Hermione Granger and the Heir of Slytherin
by xisney
Summary: After everyone she knew and loved dies, Hermione irrationally agrees to travel back into time to kill the young Tom Riddle. How will she handle this new responsibility? How will she react to the familiar faces she sees?
1. Stop Running

Disclaimer: Clearly I realize that I don't own any of this.

A/N: The method of Time Travel is based on S'TarKan's Nightmares of Future Past. If you're one of the two people in the world who haven't read his fanfiction, I highly recommend it.  
For those of you who are following my other work, this one is much darker, and it will be updating through the month of November for NaNoWriMo. My other work will be back updating after November, and possibly once or twice during November.

Chapter One: Stop Running

Ms. Hermione Granger was absolutely furious at the thin hand covering her eyes and the second arm keeping her folded arms locked and useless on her chest. She was quite certain that she had almost witnessed her best friend, her last remaining friend on this plane of existence, being torn apart by a rather vicious use of the Sectumsempra spell. She felt herself being pulled into another room and she suppressed the scream of anger, not of fear, that she wanted to let out and continue screaming until her throat bled and her tongue fell out.

"I'm sorry Ms. Granger," a silky voice said beside her ear. His breath was notably cold. "But I'm going to have to ask you to be very quiet."

Hermione relaxed. It was just Snape. Here she was, the last living mudblood, in a den of Death Eaters and the one who grabs her is the only one who doesn't want to see her on a table with her organs hanging out for all to see.

"I didn't just see that, did I?" she asked quietly.

He removed his hand from her eyes, but not his grip across her arms. She looked around her room. It was probably the closest thing Snape had to an office. There were still shelves with jars full of animal parts, although now she assumed some of the parts now were human, but his desk was pushed to the side and there were some markings on the floor. Charmed candles kept the room alight, and she noticed some stains on the wall that she didn't want to look too closely at.

"You did," he replied.

She successfully pulled herself off of him, and she paced around the room. She wanted to scream and smash every single one of his jars, and definitely claw at his stoic face, but she did what she always did, she tried to think it out. She did not just see Harry Potter, the boy who lived, get mercilessly slaughtered by not even the great Dark Lord Voldemort, but by the look of the hair it was possibly the underlying Lucius Malfoy, who had been desperate to prove himself. She knew as soon as Voldermort found out, Lucius would probably be ripped to shreds too.

"How many Horcruxes are left?" she asked.

"We can't find one, we don't even know what it is," Snape replied, "And he still has Nagini hidden gods know where. It was extremely unlucky that he found out what you three were up to."

She paced longer, moving her wand from one hand to the other. She eventually asked, "How many do we have left on your side?"

Snape hesitated, and Hermione picked up on it right away. She stopped pacing and looked directly into his tunnelling black eyes. It was the toneless way he said it that caused a chill to crawl up her spine: "It is just me left."

"The order is gone," she said.

"I am all that is left."

She stepped closer to him. "You are telling me that you and me are the only people who are fighting against this. Everyone else is either on the dark side or in hiding."

"Or just trying to defend themselves," he replied, "Yes."

Hermione looked just over Snape's shoulder and bit her lip. Her lip was so raw that she tasted blood almost instantly, and she ran her tongue along it before biting down again. It was like her brain just shut down. She couldn't even stop her lip from bleeding. "When did Percy go?" she asked.

"About a month back," he replied.

Hermione walked over to his desk and then leaned on it. No one really expected Percy to last as long as he did and to do as much damage as he did. She didn't know all of the resistance, a lot of no names came forward when things really started to get bad, when Lee Jordan was slaughtered live on Potterwatch. Everyone knew who she was though. The last known muggle born witch. She remembered how much she cried when Dean Thomas was killed. She held onto Ron so tight, he joked that he was afraid she'd never let go, and she clearly shouldn't have.

Hermione Granger cursed. It wasn't a curse like a spell, it was a curse her parents would have grounded for her, if they could hear her, if they were still alive.

"What the fuck am I supposed to do now, Severus?" she asked. "I was supposed to die before him, but that bastard used Petrificus Totalus on me. It took me too long to shake it off. I can't do this."

Snape reached out to touch her shoulder, but she slapped his hand away. The last time he did something like that she ended up crying so hard and holding him so tight she was afraid she'd never let him go. He had asked about Ron, not knowing he had died, and she had been trying to stay strong in front of Harry, so she had to have a complete emotional purging in the greasy git's arms.

"If you insist on being emotional, I'm going to ask you to lower your voice," he said. "I can't put up any silencing charms without people thinking something is up. You should just leave. I can meet you somewhere and we can plan what our next course of action is."

"What next course of action? Finding a nice hole to die in?" she asked. "He's killing anyone who even references anything close to a horcrux. It's not like you could just walk up to him and ask how his pet snake cum soul is. Even you aren't that safe."

"So you just want to die then?" he asked coolly.

"I really do loathe you," Hermione said. "You're not going to let me have an emotional breakdown unless it's on your terms."

"For your own safety," he said.

Hermione scowled. She wanted to just disapparate out of there. "Can I leave from here?" she asked. "Or am I going to have to get out of here first?"

"You can leave from here," he replied.

Hermione straightened herself and stopped leaning on his desk. She straightened her robes out as if anyone was going to see her. She felt her eyes begin to fill with tears again. "Do you have any plans of action?" she asked.

For once, Severus Snape's face revealed something was wrong. "I have one," he replied.

"What's wrong with it?"

He frowned and turned away from her, "It might not work, and there's a big risk in it."

"Do we have time to discuss it?"

Snape checked the inside of his arm. "We have time," he said. "The monsters are probably fighting over Potter right now."

"Let's not discuss that," she said, wiping one of her eyes. "What's your idea?"

"I read this anthology of essays, and there was one that was purely theoretical, but I think I have figured out a way that it could work," he said. "Actually, I have already practiced it-"

"You're stalling, just tell me."

"I can send your soul back through time and possibly prevent this whole disaster," he said.

Hermione laughed. One of the things she appreciated about Snape was his appreciation of books and theories and experimentation. She didn't exactly expect him, out of everyone she knew, to drop the time travel bomb, especially since she was the one who dabbled in the only possible form of time travel.

"You said you practiced it," she said.

"Dumbledore, actually," he said. A new light flickered in his eyes and Hermione was reminded for a moment of Ron talking about Quidditch before the war. She couldn't help smiling at his enthusiasm. "We discussed it when he had that curse, you know we had always planned for me to kill him once we knew he was doomed, it was just finding the right moment. We had the runes scrawled everywhere in case we had to do it suddenly."

"So when you... what term should I use here?" Hermione asked.

He shifted uncomfortably. "We can say when I killed him," he said hollowly. "We quickly repositioned ourselves, he activated the runes, while I cast the spell to kill him, his soul moved through the barrier created by the runes and sucked him through time."

"Then why is everything still a mess?" she asked.

"It could have created an alternate reality," he replied. "Unless he did not make it through."

"So you're saying that you're going to kill me and maybe I'll travel back in time. What time are you sending me back to anyway? Am I relieving my childhood? And if it's just my soul am I going to have to possess a body?"

"I figure we'll send you back to his time," Snape replied, "When he went to Hogwarts."

"So I can kill him while he's weak?" Hermione asked.

"If you're up for it," Snape replied. "I know I would. As for a body-"

"Wait, why aren't you going then?" Hermione asked.

"I can subvert things best in my position now. And I didn't want to leave you three to figure things out on your own. And I don't want to leave you alone now," he said. "It's best if I'm last. I'll figure something out for myself."

Hermione could have worried that Snape was just trying to kill her, if it weren't for the throng of death eaters on the other side of the door just waiting for a rumour of her. He wouldn't have to make this much of an effort to kill her.

"How long could you keep this up for?" she asked. "After we're all gone."

"You are considering this?" Snape asked.

"Tell me about the body I'm possessing," Hermione said. "I am taking a body, right?"

"Yes," he replied. "I picked one out specifically for you. It's an orphan female. There's only two other orphans, one being him, and another being a male. I assumed you preferred to be in a female body. I decided an orphan would be best so you would not have any emotional ties, nor would anyone notice a sharp change in personality. In our timeline she had both the Durmstrang Institute and Hogwarts offer scholarships to school, but she choses the Durmstrang Institute, where she dabbles in the Dark Arts and ultimately dies after dropping out of school around the end of Grindelwald's chaos."

"So she's doomed anyway," she said.

Snape nodded in response. "I am afraid that she is not much like you physically," he replied. "I'm sure you can develop a few charms if you wish to shape yourself back to your original appearance. It would not be particularly noticeable, since it is a time when your body is maturing."

"Would I be in his year then?"

"Yes," he said.

"Where's Dumbledore?"

Snape replied, "He wanted to be a few years ahead. So I sent him a few years ahead. You should be able to spot him immediately."

Hermione bit her lip again. Here she was, a twenty-five (or was it twenty-six?) year-old widower and the world seemed doomed. The only person who had a chance against Voldemort was dead, and Voldemort still had three lives left. Everyone she had ever known or loved was dead, and not just dead but brutally murdered. Could she really just leave this doomed world? Would she really be fixing it by leaving?

"Okay," Hermione said.

"You're willing to do this?" Snape asked.

Hermione swallowed. "Yes."

Snape began pulling things down from the shelves, methodically looking at the contents and either putting a jar back or putting it down on his desk. "You're the one I thought was the least likely to do it," he said. "You have always been so grounded and practical. I did not think you would be willing to go for something that is so theoretical."

"I was thinking about that time turner from my third year," Hermione said. "Harry and I saved Sirius with it, and we only had a few hours. Maybe I can save everyone this time, and permanently."

Snape flinched. It was possible he didn't know how Harry and Hermione had managed to save Sirius that time, but he wasn't about to bring about an argument now. The man was dead. He wasn't sure he was sorry about it, but he certainly wasn't happy about it. They had only postponed the inevitable. Maybe that's what they were doing this time too.

Snape stopped sorting through his things. "Are you sure you do not want to think about this?" he asked.

"This is one thing I don't think I should think about at all. Let's just do it."

"All right," Snape said. "Give me a moment."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

He knew Hermione wouldn't be happy just standing and watching. "Of course," he replied with a smile.

The two finished the rune markings and prepared everything for the procedure. Neither desired to think too thoroughly about what they were doing. Everything in Hermione's body, even her gut, was telling her this was a stupid idea. She kept telling herself that she had nothing left here and that it couldn't be that terrible of an idea if Dumbledore already went through it. She tried not to think of the people she was leaving behind, the faceless people who only had Harry left to save them. She knew she just couldn't do it alone. Things hadn't been the same since Ron had died. She was the one who was supposed to die next.

Snape was just trying to forget that he would be alone after this. It wasn't that he particularly enjoyed the Order's company, although Arthur had generally promised tolerable conversation, but he certainly didn't agree with what Voldemort was doing. Not anymore, at least. He tried not to think of his failure. He couldn't protect Lily's son. He should have died fighting for him, instead of grabbing Hermione Granger and plotting more. Somewhere along the line it became about the big picture.

"All right," Hermione replied when everything was set up. "Shall we do this?"

Snape showed her where to stand, his thin fingers holding her shoulders firmly. "I can't kill you," he said. "You have to really mean it to use the killing curse and it will be the most efficient way to move your soul into the field. I am going to bind you and bring in Draco Malfoy. I will be able to talk him into believing that what we have set up is some sort of post-death torture device. It will keep him from using the Cruciatus Curse."

"So the last face I'll see if Draco Malfoy," Hermione sighed.

Snape gave her a soft smile and squeezed her shoulder. "Just think of Ron," he replied. "You get to choose which face is your last."

Hermione returned his smile. "I will, thank you."

"You're welcome," Snape said, releasing her shoulder.

Hermione nodded and Snape quietly cast "Incarcerous." He checked the ropes to make sure that they were tight enough but still allowed her to stand up straight. Snape said a stoic "Good luck" and stepped out of his room.

Hermione imagined horrible things happening to her in the two minutes she was alone. Every creak made her imagine six Death Eaters stumbling onto her tied up like this or, worse, Draco stumbling onto her without Snape behind him. When Draco stepped in first, Hermione's skin began to crawl.

"Thank the gods," Draco said to Snape. "I can't believe you caught her. Sneaking after Potter, I suspect."

"Lower your voice Malfoy. Do you really want to share this with every other Death Eater?" Snape snarled. "Do you really want to share this kill with your father?"

"Did you see his face when he killed Potter? The Dark Lord is going to tear him to pieces," Draco said. He tried to sound tough, but his voice was quivering.

Hermione noticed the years weren't kind to Draco Malfoy. He was short, stocky, and his hair appeared to be fleeing from his forehead. His haughty gait seemed forced rather than the natural way he had done it in school. His eyes were sunken and deep purple bags sat beneath them. His voice was the same high, irritating pitch, as if it hadn't aged with the rest of his body. Hermione had heard his mother was killed after one of his father's failures, and she had heard that Voldemort killed her in front of both of them, so Draco, too, would smarten up. Snape had told the three of them that Draco hadn't spoken with his father since the kill, and that was years ago, so she assumed they still weren't speaking.

"Let's focus on the task at hand," Snape said. He placed his hands on Draco's shoulders, like he had done with Hermione moments earlier, and positioned him in front of Hermione. "You remember what I said about her soul being torn apart?"

"This sounds too complex," Draco said. "Let me just Crucio her."

"If she screams everyone will come running," Snape replied.

"I'm quick enough to kill her before they get here. It'd be worth it," Draco said. "Little mudblood snot."

Hermione spat in his face. It was just too tempting. Snape looked just about as furious as Draco. Draco put his wand right up to her throat, moving out of his position. "If I didn't want to dream about your soul screaming for eternity, I'd Crucio you until you were just as nutters as Longbottom's parents. Then I'd give you to the Death Eaters for them to tear apart."

Hermione kept her voice low. "I'm surprised you don't have any fantasies where you fuck my lifeless corpse," she whispered against his cheek, "But I suppose you're too busy sucking your Lord's dick."

Snape grabbed Draco's wand and covered his mouth, letting Draco's teeth sink into his pale, long fingers. He pulled Draco back into his original position. "Calm yourself Draco and think about her soul screaming for eternity," Snape said. "I promise you'll hear it as soon as it enters those runes."

Draco stepped out of position to snarl at Hermione: "I'd rather fuck a muggle foothold trap than your lifeless corpse."

Snape pulled him back into his position and Draco's grey eyes stuck on Hermione while Snape activated the runes. Hermione stared back, defiantly, as if he couldn't kill her. She couldn't help but notice a bit of perspiration sitting on Draco's forehead.

"All right," Snape said. "Go ahead."

Hermione closed her eyes and thought only of Ron. His blue eyes stared lovingly into her, and he was so close that she could count the freckles on his nose, like she did sometimes when he was snoring, asleep beside her. She smiled as Draco shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"


	2. Oh Sweet Nuthin'

Disclaimer: Clearly I realize that I don't own any of this.

Chapter Two: Oh Sweet Nuthin'

For a minute she was flying into Ron's arms. There he was, with his big goofy smile on his face, his arms wide all for her to take. She was ready to curl up in his arms, against his chest, and sleep forever. But before their fingers could touch and intertwine, she began getting pulled back. It was as if she was swimming in water, and she was running out of air. Ron's look of fear was the last look she saw as he faded into a blinding whiteness.

Hermione Granger felt as if she was being squeezed through a very small pipe. There was a bit a pain, but more out of discomfort. The next thing she knew she was in a dingy room with a woman speaking to her. "A man is here to see you," she said, "To discuss that scholarship you received."

Hermione Granger wanted to vomit. Her stomach turned and twisted, so she just nodded at the woman speaking to her. She assumed it was either someone from Hogwarts or someone from Durmstrang. Harry had told her about Dumbledore's memory of talking to Tom Riddle before he came to Hogwarts. Maybe he'd see her. As the woman walked out of room to get the man, Hermione found her stomach calming and new excitement building in her. It worked. She was back in time, what time she wasn't sure, and when a certain pair of twinkling blue eyes spotted her she felt her face break into a smile. She wanted to cry. She had forgotten how comforting he could be.

"Hello Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore said, sitting down on a chair in the corner her small room. Hermione realized she was sitting on her bed. "I suppose you have read the letter."

"Oh yes sir," Hermione replied. "I am so honoured and excited. Some strange things had been happening to me and I am glad to have an explanation for them. Honestly, sir, I was worried I was going a little mad, imagining things perhaps."

Hermione articulated what she had wanted to say during her own interview. Dumbledore had gone to see her in her parents' home before she went to Hogwarts. She still remembered the look on her parents' faces when Dumbledore came full in robes to talk to them about their daughter's magical abilities. Not even this young Dumbledore could stop the stabs of grief that sunk in on those thoughts.

"Are you all right?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione nodded, and she rubbed at her eyes with an unfamiliar hand. "Yes," she said. "I'm sorry, it's been a while since it's felt like I belonged. I didn't catch your name, sir?"

"Albus Dumbledore," he replied, holding out a hand for her to shake. "But you can call me Professor Dumbledore. I teach Transfiguration at Hogwarts, and I'm head of the Gryffindor house."

"How many houses are there?" Hermione asked.

Hermione went through these questions with him for a while, anything to keep him with her for longer. She hoped she didn't sound as distanced as she felt. She knew she'd start crying as soon as he left, and she wasn't sure she'd be able to stop. It hit her, what just happened to her. She was in a foreign time, in a foreign body, and her best friend, the only friend she had left, had died what felt like minutes ago.

Dumbledore laughed as she began asking very specific questions like the number of books in the library which referenced Muggles and the percentage of students that came from Muggle backgrounds. She couldn't remember which terms he had taught her, but she let him assume she had read it somewhere or that the Durmstrang Professor had already been there. She didn't feel him prying at her mind with legilimency, and she hoped he only used it in dire matters.

Snape had spent some time giving the three of them occlumency lessons. Harry, while reluctant, eventually warmed up to the idea. Hermione had lectured both him and Ron on the importance of all of them learning it. If any of them were captured by the worst of the Death Eaters, they could have their minds pried and poked at, and chances were they'd find some sort of interesting information. Harry didn't believe they'd take the time to even bother, but Hermione continued to lecture them on the importance of it. What really inspired both Harry and Ron, though, was when Snape told them that Bellatrix was teaching Draco how to use it. Of course Hermione excelled the most at it, and she assumed that if she couldn't still do it, she would easily be able to teach this body to do it.

"Surely," Dumbledore said, still laughing, "You have heard enough. Most of this you can find out yourself if you choose our school. I've heard Durmstrang has a scholarship available for you as well."

Hermione smiled somewhat weakly in reply. "There's no reason for me to lie to you, sir. I'm going to be going to your school," she said. "Is there something I can sign and send back with you? I plan on sending a reply to Durmstrang just after you step out." She paused, realizing she didn't have an owl to send. "They receive post, don't they?"

"I can send an owl on your behalf, if you like," Dumbledore said. "And I am thrilled you've chosen our school. Your enthusiasm is quite refreshing."

Hermione wondered what he had heard about Miss. Abercorn before he came. If she was interested in the dark arts, there probably weren't too many positive things. But if Dumbledore felt any concern over her attending Hogwarts, he certainly didn't show it to Hermione. "I would appreciate the owl being sent. Should I compose my reply here?" she asked.

"If that suits you," he replied.

Hermione nodded, and then quickly scanned the room. Where would she have kept the reply letter? And what was her name? Why wouldn't Snape have told her what her name was? She stood up and straightened the skirt she was wearing. There was a closet in her room, so she checked there first, hoping that she didn't look as lost as she felt.

She decided to apologize anyway as she scanned the closet for both of the letters. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm afraid the excitement has gone a bit to my head."

Dumbledore just nodded politely. Hermione managed to stumble on the letters and luckily her first name was placed there. She stared at it, hesitating. It wasn't that she didn't like the name; it was that the name was different from her own. Deep down, part of her must have thought Snape would have found someone with the same name. She stared at both of the letters side-by-side for a moment. To Dumbledore, it must have looked like she was having second thoughts, but he still said nothing and kept a smile on his face.

"This is going to be an odd request," Hermione began, "But is there any way I could change my name? Not my last name, I understand that would be too complicated, but my first name?"

Dumbledore stared at her for a moment, and Hermione felt like he knew everything. She wondered for a moment if Dumbledore had possessed his own body, or if the future Dumbledore had spoken with the past Dumbledore. She was surprised this entire reality hadn't collapsed already.

"I could list it as your preferred name. Like a boy who has been named after his father, so he goes by his middle name. Your professors will generally refer to you by your last name anyway, so it shouldn't be too difficult," he said.

"Thank you, sir," she said. "I would prefer to be called Hermione. I read the name somewhere, and I thought it would be appropriate to have a new name for a new beginning. I thought it would help to turn over a new leaf."

"That sounds quite interesting," Dumbledore replied. "I hope it doesn't become a habit. I have turned over a number of leaves in my lifetime, but I only have the three names to switch between."

Hermione laughed uncomfortably at the joke. She was surprised at how upset she was that she couldn't remember all his names. She made idle chatter and she filled out the papers, feeling Dumbledore watching her carefully. She wasn't sure if he suspected something was up, or if he was just interested in her as a person. She wondered if he watched, or would watch, Tom Riddle in this way.

Dumbledore said he would be back in a few days to take her to pick up her school supplies. She asked if there would be other students, and he said he was not escorting anyone along with her. She was relieved, somewhat. She wasn't sure she wanted to go shopping along with that monster. Hermione was still quite determined she would kill him on sight.

Dumbledore left soon after she finished the letters, leaving Hermione alone in her room. She took a few minutes out to breathe, and she was surprised the tears didn't just start pouring out. Her curiosity got the better of her as she went into the bathroom to check herself in the mirror. Luckily the bathroom was empty went she got there, so she was allowed to examine herself in private.

She was a very petite girl. It wasn't that Hermione had been big when she was that age, but she wasn't this small. The limbs on this girl were all thin and frail-looking. Her cheeks were hollow and pale. She had high cheekbones, and she spent a minute touching them. Her eyes were a bit large, but not to the point of being goggled, and a bright green. She had always been fond of her eyes. Ron always complimented them, using the cliché line that he could get lost in them. Cliché or not, she loved hearing it.

She would have liked the eyes if they were on another person. They reminded her of Harry, the way her thick black eyelashes framed her eyes. As she leaned closer to look at her eyes, she noticed a thin line of freckles down her nose and across her cheeks. They were barely noticeable, but part of her felt like a little bit of Ron had rubbed off on her.

So Harry's eyes watched her from the mirror, and Ron left a trace of himself on her face. Her hair, however, she couldn't justify. It was thin, limp, and jet black. Her hair may have caused problems in her previous form, but this one had no personality. At least, she didn't think it had any personality. She hated everything about it, and wondered if she would feel better about it if she just cropped it short.

Hermione generally avoided everyone at the orphanage. Most of the girls avoided her, too, she noticed. She also noticed that most of the girls had roommates, but she was alone. And even though she was alone, she still couldn't manage to cry, though she constantly felt like she was close to bursting into tears. She searched the room a few times, trying to find a journal or something so she could find out more about who she was. Although she wasn't sure that she wanted to know who she had been. She could be anyone now. A blank slate. But she would probably still be herself.

She practiced her occlumency every night and sometimes during the day. She found it easily adapted to the new body, and it would be just as strong had she been in her old body. Hermione tried to keep busy by reading books around the orphanage. She read some old history books and tore through the recycling bin for old newspapers. She practiced some basic spells that she knew she could use outside of Hogwarts, such as lumos. She noticed the spells were considerably stronger than this body could maintain, and she had a hard time controlling them when she casted them at the strength she normally would. So she practiced casting them at a smaller intensity.

Albus Dumbledore visited her again in a few days. She was given adequate warning, as a Barn Owl perched outside her window with a letter for her. Hermione dressed in what she thought were the best clothes in her closet before setting out for Diagon Alley with her Professor.

She was surprised at how similar things were. It was, perhaps, a bit emptier, but it had the same sort of feel. Some of the store owners were different, but she felt better to see the familiar, pristine Gringotts looming over Diagon Alley. She wasn't surprised that Mr. Ollivander was still there. He was notably younger, but he still had the same creepy silver eyes. He seemed to ignore Dumbledore completely as he searched for a wand for Hermione. She doubted she'd managed to get the same wand as before, so she was curious about what she would end up with. Would anything fit her at all? It was terrifying, as an increasing number of wand boxes piled up behind him. But when she looked at Dumbledore, he gave her the same smooth smile, and she felt better.

Eventually she ended up with a Willow 11 ¾ Dragon Heartstring. She was relieved that it emitted a similar amount of sparks as her own wand had done. Dumbledore clapped enthusiastically for her, and she was reminded of how impressed her own parents had been. She wondered how many other orphaned students Dumbledore had clapped for, and she wondered how many of them wondered what their parents would have done in his shoes, or if they could have been there at all.

After Narcissa had been murdered, Draco Malfoy personally went to find Hermione parents. She had them in Australia to keep them safe, but to no avail. He hunted them down, presumably with some of his cronies, and left pieces of their corpses around for Hermione to find. She didn't think she would have been able to recognize her mother's finger if separated from the rest of her body, but she certainly did. It went on for a year, finding these pieces. One of the few times they stumbled onto Malfoy, she saw her lovely cat stuffed and turned into an end table. Part of her thought that Crookshanks would be okay.

Lucius took out his rage in a similar way, but much less successfully, by attacking the close-knit Weasley family. He gathered a back of Death Eaters and they tried to burn the Weasley's out of their home. The flames became so out of control that the Death Eaters fled before the family even got out. Lucius, completely enraged, stayed to fight. Arthur lost his hand defending his family, he left the Burrow first to clear the way, but that was the worst. Everyone managed to survive, including Lucius, who fled the scene before he was outnumbered.

Hermione walked with her new parcels with Dumbledore. They had bought a trunk for her, she piled everything in it, and he levitated it in front of them as they walked. She pretend to be impressed, but Dumbledore noticed it was a bit forced. He asked, "Miss. Hermione Abercorn, is everything all right?"

He had been saying "Miss. Hermione Abercorn" all day. Hermione assumed it was to get her used to the new name, but Hermione appreciated it all the same. It was nice for him to say her name again. It had been almost a decade since she last heard him use her name frequently.

"Yes, Professor," she said. "The excitement is just getting to me again, that's all." She hesitated before saying, "No one talks to me much, where I live. It was nice having someone to share that with."

"Well, Miss. Hermione Abercorn," Dumbledore replied. "I just want you to know, that even if you are not in my house, I would not be surprised if you ended up in Ravenclaw, with that sharp mind of yours, you can always come to me if you need anything."

"Thank you, sir," Hermione replied. "That really means-"

And in the middle of Diagon Alley, Hermione Granger started to cry.


	3. Drink Me Out of the Sea

Disclaimer: Clearly I realize that I don't own any of this.

Chapter Three: Drink Me Out of the Sea

Hermione sat in the last car on the Hogwarts Express. She wasn't sure it was the exact same car as the one that Ron, Harry, and ultimately Luna, Neville, and Ginny, rode in on the way to school, but it was close enough that she felt relieved. She watched out the window as parents loaded their kids onto the train. She kept her eyes open for a student who resembled Dumbledore. She couldn't imagine a Dumbledore in his teens.

After Hermione had publically started to cry, Dumbledore took her to get ice cream. He didn't touch her even though she desperately wanted a hug that would consume her entirely. He didn't ask anything, and he tried to get her to stop apologizing for being so upset. She was glad he didn't try to get her to talk about it.

As the train started to move, Hermione felt like wandering around on the train along with it, but she was worried about running into Tom Riddle and having to kill him in front of a crowd. However, her lack of movement was to no avail as a poor boy wandered into her section. She was alone, and he asked if he could sit with her.

She knew it was Voldemort instantly. It wasn't just Harry's description of what he looked like, it was the stoic face he had on a twelve year old. She could feel the energy surging beneath his smooth, flawless skin. His dark eyes were already hardened as if he had already lived through the war he started.

The panes vibrated within the window frames as Hermione said yes. She wanted to tear the boy apart, perhaps by conjuring something inside of his stomach and then forcing it to grow. She bet she could put something from her luggage in there.

"Thank you," Tom replied. "The other compartments are packed."

He didn't initiate anymore conversation and he pulled out a book to begin to read. Hermione noticed it was a textbook and her hate shifted. She knew he was pretending not to notice the windows. She tried not to stare at his fine features. She could stuff him out a window and hope the train ran over him. She could cut him up here and stick his pieces out of the window. There were many ways she could kill him and maybe even get away with hit.

But she could kill him anytime. Her reason told her that she could wait until he became more threatening. Plus, it would save her from Azkaban, at least for a while. Her curiosity was getting the better of her; she wanted to see what school was like 70s years ago.

Hermione tried to decide if she should talk first or just let him read. Maybe he'd find her mysterious if she didn't act too forward. The windows stopped shivering as she pulled out her own book to read. They spent the trip reading in silence, both turning down the sweets and Hermione suspected he had no money like she did. She wondered how many penniless orphans Hogwarts could support.

The first years still crossed the river, but with one of the professors. He was quite far from Hagrid, she noticed, with him being quite short and well spoken. He was, however, loud enough to get the First Years attention. "First years!" he shouted. "First years this way!"

Hermione would later find out that he was Professor Saqi Narayan and taught Muggle Studies. She followed at a close distance, trying not to share a boat with Tom Riddle, who lagged behind the rest. Despite being short, Professor Narayan had a well-built upper body, with his pudge of his stomach jutting out slightly. He wore a three-piece Muggle Suit, complete with a vest, which was brown with gold pinstripes. His dress shirt was a pale, canary yellow and his tie was gold.

Hermione ultimately ended up sharing a boat with Tom Riddle and two students she didn't recognize. She wouldn't have been surprised if there were a few from the Black clan, but they didn't stand out directly to her. For the first time, Hermione wished she had thought through the whole time travel thing, and if she had made the most ridiculous decision to go through with this, she wished she had spent more time planning things out – which Death Eaters would be going to school with her, who she should avoid or befriend. She didn't even know what other students would be there. It's possible she could know a few students in Gryffindor.

The water began to ripple quickly as Hermione grew more uncomfortable. Her arm was pressed against the monster who sat beside her. As she began really feeling her hate for the boy beside her, the other students had to hold onto the sides of their boats to keep them steady. It was sudden, when her boat cracked in half, when Hermione realized that her suppressed magical ability was escaping on its own.

Hermione had never felt this sort of power before. She had never considered herself a natural at what she did. She worked hard to become the brilliant witch she was, and she didn't doubt that she was brilliant. Maybe she was a natural at learning, but she wasn't a natural at magic. So to feel all this energy coursing at her fingertips, this was something new. It was a feeling similar to being in Ollivander's wand shop, all this magic making her hair rise. She closed her eyes and let it consume her.

She felt herself sinking through the water. She loved the silence beneath the water. She thought about Tom Riddle drowning with her, swallowing water and sinking deeper. She could save the world right now. She let images of Ron float through her head, but they were disrupted as the water was disrupted. Professor Narayan had jumped in to grab the students. His force broke the silence of the water. He pulled her out second last, and she couldn't help coughing.

He pulled out Tom Riddle last, who seemed to have sunk the farthest in. The boy's face was white and he actually coughed up water. Hermione noticed that Professor Narayan looked more concerned than angry, and she suspected that he didn't realize it was her that sunk the ship.

The Professor made sure that the students were all right, and then he cast a few spells to dry off the students, and then he moved them along so they could finish the next step of the ceremony. Hermione was relieved to see that it was Professor Dumbledore who answered the door leading to Hogwarts, and he was the one who prepared them for the Sorting Hat.

She made sure she was standing far away from Tom Riddle, again, so that she wouldn't have any more accidental discharges. Hermione was surprised at how quickly she let the magic consume her. She needed to find the Dumbledore from her timeline as soon as possible to talk with him about these things. Hermione thought perhaps if she performed more magic, in a way that she didn't have to suppress it, but she wasn't sure how she could do that with so many students around.

"Miss. Hermione Abercorn," Dumbledore read.

Hermione jumped. She had been so deep in thought that she forgot that she had to put that hat on her head. When she picked up the hat, she noticed it still looked pretty dingy and worn out. She put the hat on top of her head as she wondered if anyone could repair the hat.

"Another one," the small voice said. "You've already been sorted. Two students in three years. Has time travelling become a trend?"

"You could say that," Hermione thought in reply, "Let's just get this over with."

"Well, you were originally sorted into Gryffindor, and you've got the brains for Ravenclaw, but you also just tried to kill one of your fellow students, and I believe you've travelled here to kill him specifically. That feels more like a Slytherin student to me," the hat said.

Hermione just sighed. There was no reason for her to stay in Gryffindor. "Fine," she said, "But it is for the good of humanity."

"SLYTHERIN," the hat shouted.

Hermione sat down to the cheers at the Slytherin table. The ceremony went on uneventfully. Hermione didn't feel like monitoring differences. She noticed the headmaster, Armando Dippet, was less eccentric than Dumbledore in his speeches, but that was about all. She felt sick, thinking about the house elves, as she ate her meal. She noticed Tom sat on the other end of the table. She wondered if he suspected something, but it could be possible that there was no seat around her. The first years were already mingled in with the upper years. She wasn't sure she could even pick out all the first years herself.

However, another student caught her eye. Even this young, she recognized the severe face of Walburga Black. It would be hard to forget the face of the screaming portrait. Walburga caught Hermione peering at her and gave her a smile. Hermione blushed and quickly looked away. She wasn't sure she had even imagined the portrait smiling, and seeing the real thing gave Hermione a bit of a shock.

Hermione stared at her hands for a while, and when she looked up to see the rest of the room, she noticed a sparkling pair of blue eyes over at the Gryffindor table. These eyes were staring right at her, but she wasn't sure it was Dumbledore on the other side. The eyes were on a black woman with stark, white hair.

When they were allowed to file out of the room, Hermione lingered to try to near the suspect Dumbledore. She wouldn't have put it past Dumbledore to go into a female body just to experience something new. Now that Hermione really thought about it, she wouldn't have minded giving a boy's body a spin. Their problems seemed much less dramatic than female ones.

"Hermione Granger," the girl said. "I must say I didn't expect you."

Hermione tried to avoid the Slytherin Prefects so she could talk to this girl who was clearly Dumbledore. She smiled at her peer. "I'm sorry that this is the first thing I'm going to say to you, but why on earth are you a girl?" Hermione replied.

"I'm afraid it is Severus' idea of a joke," she replied. "Although it might have been a mistake. When I stumbled into this body, it was drowning and I-"

"Miss. Abercorn," the male, adult Dumbledore pulled her out of the crowd. "I'd like a word before you make your way into the Slytherin common room."

"Sounds important," the female Dumbledore replied. "I'm Allison by the way, but everyone calls me Allie." She shook Hermione's hand rather forcibly, but Hermione felt that Allie had pushed something into her hand. She dropped it into her pocket so the other Dumbledore wouldn't notice.

Dumbledore led Hermione into his office, which she recognized as Professor McGonagall's office. Professor Narayan was standing in Dumbledore's office, looking at a portrait on the wall who eagerly looked back at him. In the light of Dumbledore's office, Hermione noticed flecks of grey in Professor Narayan's goatee and hair.

He pointed at the portrait. "Who is this?" Professor Saqi Narayan asked. "I'll be damned if it's not someone I know."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I brought Miss. Abercorn," he said.

"Ah yes," Professor Narayan replied with a smile. "Miss. Abercorn, we wanted to discuss what happened on the way here."

Hermione shifted from one foot to the other. "The boat?" she asked.

Professor Dumbledore exchanged a knowing look with the other Professor. Dumbledore began, "Professor Slughorn, the head of Slytherin house, is speaking with the boy now. You nearly drowned him. He was lucky Professor Narayan jumped in when he did."

"Wait," Hermione replied, "I wasn't casting anything. I haven't even practiced any spells before. How could I have broken the boat and almost drowned a boy I don't even know?"

Hermione could feel Dumbledore start using a small amount of Legilimency on her. She blocked out a degree of her thoughts, allowing him to focus on the comfort she felt when the magic consumed her. Professor Narayan explained, "When you suppress your magic ability, it tends to come out in sudden bursts. These bursts are difficult to control and can be very dangerous. Have you been consciously suppressing your ability at the orphanage?"

"Yes," Hermione replied. She wasn't completely lying. She used a bit of magic here and there, but she had been suppressing the entirety of her magic ability. This new body wasn't developed enough to handle the energy her soul had.

Professor Dumbledore continued, "And have you encountered Tom Riddle before?"

"We shared a compartment on the way here," she said. "He wasn't exactly the best of company."

Professor Dumbledore and his colleague exchanged looks. Dumbledore rubbed his chin before saying, "Perhaps it is best to avoid the boy until you've let out this energy."

"Okay, sir," Hermione replied.

"And if there are more incidents, please come to me," Professor Narayan said. "If you are not able to release this energy through classes, I'll host a few private sessions to help you maintain and control it. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn will be busy with their house duties, so please do not feel uncomfortable approaching me. I have a lot of free time."

"I will, Professor," Hermione said.

"Then that's that," Professor Narayan replied with a smile. "When I told Professor Dumbledore about what happened, he was worried something sinister was afoot."

"I'll escort Miss. Abercorn to her common room Saqi," Professor Dumbledore said. "If you ask nicely, that portrait might just tell you who he is."

"He must have been someone who I scorned in the past," Professor Narayan replied with a sigh. "Goodnight Miss. Abercorn."

"Thank you Professor Narayan," Hermione said as she left.

Professor Dumbledore began walking with Hermione back to the Slytherin common room. She felt uncomfortable. She thought Dumbledore trusted her, but now with Professor Narayan's somewhat careless words and his use of Legilimency on her, she worried about what he thought of her.

"Professor Narayan may seem a little... eccentric, but he's really quite bright. He was up for Head of Ravenclaw this year, but Professor Dippet preferred Professor Fronsac's experience." Dumbledore said as they walked down the halls together. "I hope you do go to him for assistance if you need it."

"I intend to," Hermione replied. "I just hope it passes once school starts."

Professor Dumbledore nodded. They walked in silence for a while. Hermione watched the familiar portraits as they got closer to the common room. All of the travelling Ron, Harry, and her had done during the war made her forget how much Hogwarts was home to her.

Dumbledore asked, "Did you know Miss. Allison Ejiofor before coming to Hogwarts?"

"We met on the train," she replied, "When I was trying to find the loo. I didn't catch her name, so I think she took that opportunity to introduce herself."

"I heard her call you Granger," Dumbledore said.

"We couldn't hear each other well on the train," Hermione replied. "She probably misheard my last name, and I still haven't gotten a chance to correct it. Why do you ask?"

Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "She's the only other student that asked about using a different name while at school," he replied. "She used an explanation similar to yours as to why she wanted one."

"It's a tragedy I'm not in Gryffindor then," Hermione replied. "We must have a lot in common."

Professor Dumbledore nodded and gave her the password to the Slytherin common room. Hermione found the common room fairly subdued and simply made her way into bed. She spent some time being civil with her roommates, introducing herself and they made some mindless chatter about what the next day would bring. Hermione contributed some conversation, but she felt rather two dimensional. She didn't chat much with Pavarti Patil and Lavender Brown when she shared a room with them, so she had never really practiced. She never wanted to waste her time eavesdropping either, since she always had a nice book to curl up with instead.

However, the conversation shifted: "Hermione," the Yaxley girl said, "You were on the boat that smashed, weren't you?"

"Oh with that Tom Riddle," the Abbot girl replied. "Poor thing looked quite shaken up."

Hermione bit her tongue.

The last girl in her room, a Audley girl, spoke up, "I wonder how it happened. You'd think the boats would be sturdy. Were you frightened Hermione?"

"Yes," Hermione said.

"She was lucky it was Professor Saqi," Yaxley replied. "My brother told me Slughorn had wanted to get the first years across. I doubt he would have been able to drag them out of the water."

"My sister says Saqi is daffy," Abbott said. "And if I doubted it before, I know it's true now. Slughorn would have just levitated them out of the water. Saqi is too obsessed with Muggles, he has to do everything their way, even if it puts student's lives at risk."

"Isn't it more correct to call him Professor Narayan?" Audley asked.

Abbott and Yaxley laughed, and Hermione gave Audley a sympathetic look. Obviously she didn't have any siblings or mouthy cousins like these two had. "Professor Saqi," Yaxley replied, "Prefers students call him by his first name because so few can pronounce his last name."

"I heard it was because he tries to befriend his students," Abbott said. "He's been trying to be head of Ravenclaw for a few years now. He probably thinks if the students like him more, it won't matter that he's completely incompetent."

Hermione gave up listening as they began criticizing this teacher. She noticed the Audley girl listening eagerly, ready to absorb all of their opinions. Hermione pulled out the object Allie Dumbledore had given her. It was a coin, like the one she had made for the DA in fifth year, and it functioned in the same way. The date on it said tomorrow, and she suspected that Allie wanted to meet with her tomorrow. She wasn't sure if she meant in the Room of Requirement, or if it was just in the Great Hall, since the time was breakfast. She decided she'd pop in for breakfast first to see if she was there, and then move on if Allie wasn't there.

After her roommates fell asleep, Hermione put silencing charms around her bed. She worried about having nightmares and waking up her peers. She had no intention of showing weakness in front of them. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.


	4. In Here I'm Nothing, a Cosmic Castaway

Disclaimer: Clearly I realize that I don't own any of this.

Chapter Four: In Here I'm Nothing, a Cosmic Castaway

The first thing Hermione Granger noticed when she stepped into the Great Hall was that there houses weren't segregated. The original arrangement was still present; there were still specific tables for specific houses, but the students seemed to integrate themselves in with one another. It made sense, she thought of Ginny and Luna becoming close friends despite their houses.

She spotted her roommates waving to her, but she looked around for Allie. Albus, the one from this timeline, was seated at the head of table for breakfast. She hoped the skin crawling on the back of her neck wasn't from him watching her. She gave her roommates a wave back, which she hoped would satisfy them, and she looked to where the Gryffindors would normally be located. Sure enough, she spotted Allie, and Allie smiled at her. She made a shooing motion with her hand, which Hermione assumed meant that she wanted her to leave.

They met in the hallway outside of the Great Hall and walked over to the girls' washroom. "Did you get your schedule yet?" Allie asked Hermione.

"They handed it out last night," Hermione said. "They gave mine to one of the girls in my room, and it eventually came to me."

Allie replied, "I'm surprised how much I've forgotten. This experience hasn't been entirely intolerable, plus people no longer frown upon my sweet intake."

Hermione smiled at Allie, and they made their way into the girls' washroom. They checked the stalls, but they were alone in the washroom. Allie turned serious. "You must tell me why you're here," Allie said. "Has the Order fallen?"

"It has," Hermione said. "And Harry was killed."

"I think we should go back to the beginning," Allie said.

"Dumbledore, well the you from this timeline, he is leery of me. And that other teacher, Professor Narayan, he knows I destroyed the boat," Hermione replied. "We can't always meet in the loo, and we're going to be meeting often."

"The Room of Requirement, of course," Allie said. "We'll have to use the room to help work off your excess magic as well. As you can imagine, I have to do the same."

"Professor Narayan has offered to help me," Hermione said. "I can't just use him?"

"He'll notice something's wrong," Allie said. "He's very observant. I could never slide anything past that man. You'll work some off with me, and then whatever is leftover with him. We'll make sure there's enough left to make it look more natural. Besides, it means you can spend more time with me. Now, about the Order."

"Of course," Hermione replied. "I- Can I tell you about Harry first? Snape-"

"Professor Snape."

Hermione didn't want to think about the habit she picked up from Harry. "Severus didn't give me much time to grieve, and I didn't allow myself time to think about it. It would be nice to get it off my chest."

"Of course," Allie replied, looking concerned.

Hermione took a deep breath before beginning. "Harry heard that Nagini was in a Death Eater camp, away from him- from Voldemort. We knew a large portion of the army was separated to, uh, purge some of the Muggle population. We overhead a couple of Death Eaters talking about how much they hated finding things to feed the snake, and Harry decided that was enough to go on. But I... disagreed. We got into an argument, and he used the full body-bind curse on me. I wasn't expecting it, of course. He promised me, while I was frozen, that he was just going to scope things out. He must have gotten captured. I don't think he'd just run in there. By the time I managed to get the curse off, it was too late. I walked in just in time to see Lucius Malfoy kill him. That's when Severus grabbed me to send me here."

"Why would Harry take that sort of chance?" Allie replied.

"We didn't have many options left," Hermione said. "We had no new leads on Horcruxes, and our morale wasn't helping our patience any."

"So Ron-" The bathroom door swung open, cutting off the rest of Allie's question. Hermione was somewhat thankful. She was shaking from telling about her last moments in her time.

However, Hermione was surprised at the faces she did see. "Oh Allie! You wouldn't believe it, I have potions first with Slughorn. He better not make me share a table with Walburga again or else I think she'll be drinking whatever mess of a potion we make."

It was Minerva McGonagall. Her black hair was cropped into a wavy bob, but her small spectacles were still balanced on her nose. She noticed another girl slipping into a stall, and Hermione was positive it was Poppy Pomfrey in Ravenclaw robes, which would explain why Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall had been chummy during her own time at school. "Did you search me out in the bathroom to tell me this?" Allie asked. "I have no more sway with Slughorn than you do."

"Poppy had to relieve herself before class," Minerva replied. "I decided to keep her company since she has Herbology with Beery and the Hufflepuffs next. Also, you're in the Slug Club. You'd think you could say something to him."

"Minerva, you know I know how intelligent you are. If you only made the effort-"

"Oh please," Minerva replied. "You know if Walburga wasn't so incompetent I'd be in his little club too."

"Careful," Allie said, possibly just to change the conversation. "Hermione here is in Slytherin."

Minerva's eyes latched onto Hermione. "Ah yes? You're one of the first years who was on the boat that crashed, weren't you? I remember one of the Gryffindor first years mentioning your name."

Poppy spoke from inside the stall. "Don't give her such a hard time, Minerva," she said. "It's not like she caused the accident."

"Well there were two Slytherins on that boat," Minerva said, watching Hermione. "And the other one almost drowned."

"Please Minerva," Allie stepped in. "You can't take out your loathing for Walburga on the entire Slytherin house. Hermione here is a friend of mine."

Minerva's eyes watched Allie for a moment, then they went back to Hermione. Her body stayed stiff and static. "I trust Allie's judgement unless it is her views on Quidditch. I'm Minerva McGonagall, and my friend is Poppy Pomfrey. Do you play Quidditch?"

The toilet flushed and Poppy came out to wash her hands. Hermione could have sworn she saw her rolling her eyes. "I've only ever lived in a Muggle orphanage," Hermione said, "So I don't know much about it. I've never flown before either. Do they even have wizarding orphanages? I would have preferred to be in one of those."

"This is ridiculous," Minerva said. "Have you not offered Hermione any flying lessons, Allie?"

"You know I prefer to be grounded," Allie replied.

"Then I will have to offer my services," Minerva said. "Hermione..."

"Abercorn," Hermione replied.

"Hermione Abercorn," Minerva continued, "I will teach you to fly and play Quidditch. You are not allowed to throw any games if you make the team and have to play against me."

Poppy replied, "And I will take care of the injuries you are bound to have. Minerva is a terrible teacher."

"I'd be honoured," Hermione replied, "But don't they have flying lessons at the school?"

Minerva scoffed. "If you can call them that. They barely let you get off the ground."

Minerva and Poppy continued talking to Allie and Hermione until they separated to go to classes. Hermione noticed a new time appeared on her coin, the coin with Allie's Protean Charm, and this time she knew where to meet Allie. Her classes went by somewhat uneventfully. Luckily, her roommates tended to stick together, and she was grouped up with them in each class instead of Tom Riddle.

When Allie and Hermione met after supper, Allie began showing Hermione what spells were best for releasing her pent up energy without needing a target. Allie learned that using Lumos Maxima and Expecto Patrona were some of the best.

"I bet some of the unforgivable curses would really drain this energy out," Hermione said, after another failed attempt of Expecto Patrona. "What are we going to do about Tom? I've been thinking that we could catch him in the act of releasing the Basilisk, but at most he'd be sent to Azkaban, and that's if we let Myrtle die. It's entirely possible that Dippet will do something like you did with Hagrid."

"We also don't want Tom in the hands of the ministry," Allie replied. "It's possible it will provoke him to act earlier. That's four years from now, and he'll have some powerful friends by then."

"Well, I could kill him and go to Azkaban myself. It'd be worth it, I think," Hermione replied.

"We're here now," Allie said. "Perhaps all we have to do is monitor him. We know all of his movements. If we killed him when discovering him with the Basilisk, it will look like an act of defence."

"It can't be me then," Hermione replied. "They'll think I could be the heir of Slytherin. If we failed to kill him, it could look like we tried to frame him. And I don't want you to do it alone. I'd go insane if you were stuck in Azkaban alone."

"I highly doubt they'd be able to catch me," Allie replied. "Or you, for that matter."

"I'm tired of running," Hermione replied. "It's been nine years of hiding and hunting pieces of him down. It feels like it's been a century of this."

"Then perhaps waiting is best," Allie said, giving Hermione a look of concern she didn't see. "Next year is the start of the war. I know you'll be interested in seeing that in the moment, especially because of the magical involvement your Muggle education didn't discuss. Perhaps you should think of this as a temporary vacation."

"But he's always around," Hermione replied. "The worst part is how different he looks. He just looks so human. I don't mean he's timid, he's not timid, my roommates seem to think he's this terrified little boy. It's his eyes. I'm so used to those scarlet cat eyes, but they're this calculating, dark brown." Hermione laughed. "I guess I don't have to tell you, you saw the changes. It's just Harry only described him to us. I knew it was him when he sat with me, he couldn't have been anyone else, but it's like..."

Allie picked up, "It's like he's still being moulded."

"Right," Hermione replied. "Like the first draft of an essay."

Allie chuckled, "I was thinking more like the first layer of an oil painting."

"I wouldn't want to hang that on my wall," Hermione said with a smile.

Hermione gave a regular lumos to her wand, practicing casting a spell without speaking. Her eyes followed the light and she brightened and dulled the light for some time. She knew Allie would want her to try another Expecto Patrona before they left, but she really wasn't up for it. She searched her mind for a happy moment, but she kept thinking of Ron floating away from her when she moved bodies.

Allie focussed more on Hermione releasing some extra energy than conversing about what she had faced. After hearing about what happened to Harry, Allie seemed reluctant to hear more about the Order. Allie just assumed the worst. "Did I tell you about my transference into this female body?"

"No," Hermione replied, snapping out of her thoughts. "I'm interested in hearing about that. Did you know you were going into a female body? You said it was Severus' idea of a joke."

"When I really think about it, and trust me I thought about it a lot, Severus had never specified what body I was going into. I just assumed it was male. However, it could have also been a mistake. Severus and I had to act extremely quickly, and without anyone figuring out something was afoot.

"After Severus released me from my old body, I only saw this extreme white light that consumed my vision. Then I felt like I was being forced through something incredibly tight. But I couldn't breathe. I began seeing colours, the white was above me. There was something wrong, I knew it. There was something in my lungs, and I quickly realized I was drowning. It's possible that Severus always intended me to be female, but we were a bit off on the timing.

"I just had to cast a few spells to get out of the water. I didn't dare apparate, in case the body couldn't handle it. I think it was because the old soul was already on its way out, and my was releasing so much energy, an energy this new body wasn't used to, some of the appearance connected with my soul forced its way onto this body. After the incident, the hair on this body grew out white. My eyes, too, were blue as soon as I got out of the water. This body's poor parents were so stunned when they found me on shore. They think I have some form of amnesia."

Hermione replied, "You're not an orphan then?"

"No," Allie replied. "I have parents, although they're still a little leery of me. I don't blame them, everything about this body has changed, down to my mannerisms, and I even requested that they change my name to Allison. It was the closest to Albus I could think of. I wanted to be called Al, but they compromised with Allie, and I tolerated it. It seems natural now."

"It must be strange having different parents," Hermione said.

Allie hesitated. "It is. And I am an only child also, so they feel the need to swamp me with attention. I cannot imagine your parents being able to let you spend Christmas at Hogwarts, let alone off working with Harry and Ron."

Hermione bit her lip and nodded. "I changed their memories and sent them to live in Australia, so they'd be safe and so they wouldn't hold me back, I suppose," Hermione replied. "But it didn't help at all. Is curfew coming up? Should we start heading back?"

"I suppose," Allie replied. "I don't trust us walking around invisible with the other me wandering around. I must have forgotten how quick I am."

"When I first saw him walk into my room at the orphanage, I thought he knew everything," Hermione replied. "I thought there was a possibility that you had told him."

"No," Allie replied. "I don't think he'll like the idea of us playing with time. Some nights I'm not entirely sure how Severus made it sound so promising to me. On that note, in the future, if we stumble upon an item that Tom is planning to turn into a horcrux, we cannot let him know what we're up to, and we shouldn't destroy it before he puts his soul inside. It will be easier if we know what they are and destroy them later."

"That sounds reasonable," Hermione replied. "And we shouldn't destroy them until we need to or have a plan, am I correct?"

"We shouldn't even move them," Allie said. "He'll know someone is moving his soul around when he's this young. It's when he starts distancing himself from his human side that he'll stop sensing them. That's why we were able to destroy them later without him knowing."

"Okay, I understand," Hermione said.

They started walking towards the door of the Room of Requirement. That's when Hermione realized how large the room had made itself for them to practice. Hermione decided that when she was to meet Allie next, she'd go a bit earlier, and try to get the Room to produce dummies for her to train with. She had no intention of duelling with Allie.

Hermione exhaled as Allie touched the handle of the door. They chatted idly about Professor McGonagall, as they went back to their rooms. Allie was in her third year, whereas Minerva and Poppy were in second year. As Hermione lay on her bed for the night, she listened to the girls talking about the first classes. She closed her eyes and pretended to voices were Lavender Brown and Pavarti Patil, and she'd see Ron and Harry in the morning.


	5. Me and My Anger sit Folding a Paper Bird

Disclaimer: Clearly I realize that I don't own any of this.  
A/N: I'd like to spew out a quick thank you to "you go girl" for her kind words on every chapter. It's nice to have a regular.  
And thanks to all my other reviewers as well! Feedback always motivates me to go faster!

Chapter Five: and Me and My Anger sit Folding a Paper Bird

Hermione woke up with new determination. She decided to take both of the Dumbledore's advice. She would consider this some sort of horrendous vacation, and she would train with Professor Narayan. Hermione simply avoided Tom Riddle. She ate her meals with Allie, Minerva, and Poppy at the Gryffindor table. She chatted with her roommates, Audley, Abbott, and Yaxley, during her classes and before she went to bed so they wouldn't be upset with her eating her meals with other students. They weren't completely content with her choices, but they didn't ignore or shun her.

She spent the majority of her free time in the library, reading history books and reading about the different spells. This was so that she didn't use any spells that hadn't been invented yet casually, but also so that she knew what spells she could use to attack that would be difficult to counter since Tom or any of this Death Eaters to-be wouldn't know them. She also skimmed the law section, reading past murder cases, and what laws were available for Hermione to use as a scapegoat, if she needed to. She was going to kill Tom, and she would talk this "vacation time" to research how best to do so.

Hermione had also begun chatting up the librarian. It turned out that Madam James used to be a muggle Court Stenographer, and she used an enchanted stenographer to help her with her work. She had been scorned by most employers in wizarding society either because she worked for muggles, or because she took advantage of muggles. She told Hermione that she didn't care what any of them thought, it was muggle law that had interested her most, and this was her only way to pursue the cases. As Hermione talked to her about the wizarding court cases she had read, Hermione learned that Madam James knew quite a bit about Wizarding law too, and Madam James spent a lot of her free time comparing them. The woman was easily in her 80s now, and she said that no more muggle courts would hire her because of her age. Madam James knew Armando Dippet through her sister, and her sister pulled some strings to get her the librarian job. Madam James admitted to Hermione that she was enjoying the job a lot more than she thought she would.

Hermione and Allie decided they'd meet Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the Room of Requirement to train. They didn't need to work hard at all for their classes, so they spent more time training. They would have spent every day, but they knew it would be suspicious. It was suspicious enough that they consistently had plans at certain times of the day.

It wasn't until the weekend that Hermione sought out Professor Narayan. She didn't know where his office was, so she went to ask Professor Dumbledore where she could find him. It was Professor Narayan that answered Dumbledore's door. Hermione was taken aback, and she announced that she was actually there to see him anyway.

As Professor Narayan and Hermione made their way to the ground by the lake, Professor Narayan insisted that Hermione call him Professor Saqi.

"I am fully capable of pronouncing your last name, Professor Narayan," Hermione replied. "You know some of the students do it in a derogatory manner."

"I've given permission for everyone to call me that," Professor Saqi said. "So it's only derogatory if I let it be derogatory."

Hermione dropped the subject and continued on with teaching her to release and control her energy. Anytime she cast a spell, the Professor scolded her and told her she was holding back.

"Miss. Abercorn," Professor Saqi said, "You have to release this power or you will kill everyone in the school. I've seen you lurking in the library, and if you've taught yourself any fire-based spells you could set the whole place on fire after a nightmare."

"I know," Hermione replied, believing the Professor was a bit of a fearmonger.

"I don't know why you suppress it," Professor Saqi said. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

That's when Hermione was hit with a wave of inspiration, but the session continued for another half-hour. When she had finished, she quickly changed the coin and waited in the Room of Requirement for Allie to come. She didn't even think about dummies before entering, her mind was too focussed on one specific thing.

When Allie came into the room, Hermione just blurt it out: "I think I've found a way to kill Tom Riddle."

Allie just smiled. "What happened to your vacation Hermione?"

Hermione ignored her like she ignored the nightmares she had every night. "Professor Saqi mentioned that if I don't release my power, I could burn down the whole school. What if I just accidentally have an outburst that kills Tom Riddle?"

Allie sighed. She thought of her sister, her sister in her previous life. "Have you thought more about your observation of Tom Riddle?" Allie asked.

"What observation?" Hermione replied.

"The first draft of an essay. Perhaps you try to influence him to be someone else," Allie said.

"I don't think you really believe that," Hermione said. "You were always suspicious of Tom Riddle. He's after power, and he's only after power. It's not like he's seeking acceptance from his peers."

"Well, I couldn't fill that role when I was his Professor," Allie said. "Think about it Hermione. You're a powerful witch. He'll be attracted to that power, he may look at you as an equal."

"We can't assume that. And why is it me?" Hermione asked.

"It can't be both of us. We don't want to outnumber him," Allie said. "I do think he's a disturbed individual, but maybe with the right pressures-"

"Dumbledore, I have no desire to befriend that man."

"It could change everything."

"It could change nothing," Hermione replied. "If anything it could give him the upper hand."

"I am the upper hand," Allie was getting frustrated. "You will not destroy this boy by pretending you can't control your suppressed magic. It will create a bias for other witches and wizards in your position who really have that problem.

"Tom Riddle will not know who I am or how powerful I am," Allie continued, "You have been spending time with Minerva and Poppy as well as myself, and we are all top students in our own fields. He will think you are just befriending other people who are intelligent."

Hermione rubbed her temples.

Allie continued, "None of the students know it was you who nearly drowned Tom Riddle. Perhaps he suspects it, but it's only the other me and Saqi that know it was you. I highly doubt that they would have even told Professor Dippet. He will notice that Saqi is taking you aside, and he will notice that the other me is treating you the same way he is treating Tom. He'll suspect something, but he won't be able to find anything out."

"So I can still distance myself from him," Hermione said, "To pique his curiosity."

"Correct," Allie replied.

"He's not going to change," Hermione replied. "You've seen how stoney his eyes are. He is already barely human."

"I can think of someone who changed," Allie said.

"Oh please, enlighten me," Hermione replied sarcastically.

"Severus Snape," Allie said.

Allie died before Severus Snape informed Harry of his attachment to Harry's mother, and while she knew the man wanted to keep the secret as long as he could, there was a possibility he would have to tell them if they started doubting his loyalty again. Besides, she could just explain it to Hermione if she hadn't heard already. She'd have to believe him because it made perfect sense.

Severus Snape had never told Harry Potter about his love for his mother. Whether or not he regretted this silence now with Harry dead, Hermione didn't know. Hermione didn't know why he kept it a secret, but she did find out the secret herself. When she cried in Snape's arms after Ron died, she wasn't sure she would ever be able to continue with her life. She would have died then and there. It wasn't about the Boy who Lived or about the people they'd save. The only person that she wanted to save was dead. She had thought that Harry would survive without her, he was the Boy who Lived. She, in her stupor of sadness, didn't think anything could kill him.

But Severus got her to continue. He whispered in her ear with his silky voice about how much Lily meant to him, and how he had to fight to avenge her. That's what Hermione had to do, she had to avenge Ron, he said. Hermione wasn't sure she could. She didn't think she was strong enough. She should have died instead of him. She was supposed to. She fell asleep listening to the beat of Severus' strong heartbeat, and when she woke in the morning, her head was clear. She wouldn't let herself get like that again.

If Severus needed Lily to keep him grounded, perhaps all Tom needed was her. Hermione wasn't sure she bought it, she wasn't even sure she wanted to be that person to that monster, but she decided she could kill him later if she needed to.

"Fine," Hermione said. "But you have to tell me a charm that'll help me block out my dreams. I don't care if it's been invented yet or not."

"All right," Allie replied. "I have one that you use on your pillow."

Allie explained the charm to Hermione and told her how often she would need to recast the charm to keep it strong.

"We should invest in a pensieve, and a trunk like Moody's. I'm going to need a place to put some memories where no one will be able to find them," Hermione said. "And I want to be able to review them easily."

Allie considered snooping in her memories once she did this. It would be easier than having Hermione get emotional by telling her. Hermione, too, was planning to let Allie review most of them, to save her from having to tell Allie.

"I'll see what I can do," Allie said. "Then we can discuss where we'll be storing it. Perhaps here would be the best place. I'm not sure anyone would stumble onto it, and then they would need to open it."

"I'm also going to need a bag or a purse that I can put an undetectable extension charm on, but it needs to be casual enough that I can carry it everywhere without anyone being suspicious," Hermione replied. "Just something that looks like a school bag should be fine."

Allie chuckled, "I actually know just the one I'm going to get you. Anything else?"

Hermione smiled, relaxing. "I think that's all I need for now," Hermione replied. "I'm sure we'll think of more when things really start to begin. I just wish I was able to take more timeline notes."

"We'll get a locked compartment for your new schoolbag," Allie said. "And if we're worried about the notes, we can always just take out the memories as notes."

"Right," Hermione replied. "That's brilliant."

"How did the lessons with Saqi go?" Allie asked. "Minvera, Poppy, and myself noticed you out there with him. Those two are quite curious about you."

"They went well," Hermione replied. "He told me I could blow up the entire school. I also found him in your office. You two seem to be good friends. What happened to him?"

Allie exhaled. "Hopefully nothing," she said. "I'm going to do some of my own prevention programs. I'd rather not discuss it."

"But what if I can do something?"

"Focus on the task at hand, Hermione," Allie replied. "I should be able to fix this one myself."

"All right," Hermione replied. "But please don't hesitate to ask for help. Even though I look like it, I'm not the same student you used to know. It's been nine years since you died."

"I'll try to remind myself," Allie replied, distantly.

Hermione got the feeling that while she changed, Allie had not. Despite being female, Albus was the same, secretive headmaster, constructing his own plans for how things will turn out.


	6. I Cover you up with a Blanket of Snow

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.  
A/N: Just in case you're interested, I hit 25,000 words tonight. So I'm posting this chapter to celebrate.

Chapter Six: I Cover you up with a Blanket of Snow

It wasn't until the Christmas Holidays that anything notable happened to Hermione. She had been flying with Minvera whose teaching was the same as Hermione remembered, but without any sympathy at all. Hermione had never considered flying one of her stronger suits, so practicing with Minerva, while a little terrifying, was actually great practice. Poppy and Allie watched Hermione from the ground.

Hermione's sessions with Allie were more focussed than their other sessions. They discussed Tom's movements and his relationships with his friends, then they discussed general happenings around the school. Hermione often forgot what her and Allie's real relationship was, she kept thinking that they were schoolmates, that Allie was partly what Hermione had with Harry and Ron. But Allie was still Albus, she never discussed Professor Saqi again.

Hermione still spent most of her free time in the library, but she noticed an increasing appearance of Professor Saqi. While she originally suspected he was observing her, she noticed he kept pulling out books from the restricted section. She theorized that he was reinforcing the charms that made them scream and react to students pulling them off the shelves, but she couldn't be positive. He often stood reading a book for a while, but he never had more than one book open, and he never moved to a table or sat down.

Her lessons with Professor Saqi felt the same. He would create horrific scenarios where Hermione would kill her classmates, her professors, or the school, and often a scenario involving all three. Hermione felt the need to hold back some of her energy, and even when she used her full force on a spell, he still believed she was holding back. She began doubting his ability, but she doubted that he would let her cancel the sessions now.

Her other classes were moving along. Hermione still felt the desire to overachieve, but she noticed Slughorn made no motion to move her into the Slug Club. She was conflicted about her feelings on this. Part of her wanted to be in the club for achievement purposes, and to continue her quest to befriend Tom Riddle slowly, but she also didn't want too many frivolous things, nor did she want to have to converse with students that she did not care for. Her time was better spent in the library than at one of his parties anyway.

Hermione's other classes went smoothly. She was surprised that History of Magic was actually the most interesting. Not surprisingly, Professor Binns used similar teaching methods alive as he did when he was dead. Hermione, unlike her peers, never had too much of a problem listening to his lectures, and now the information was completely new to her, unlike her classes which were essentially the same as the old, despite having different Professors. Most of her professors commented on her ability and her enthusiasm, except for Professor Dumbledore who kept her at a distance in the same manner that he did with Tom Riddle.

Once a week, she'd eat supper with her Slytherin roommates. Her roommates had befriended the boys in the year, among several upper-years, and they ate their meals together. Hermione noticed she was one of the few Slytherin who ate at a different table, although there were a few non-Slytherin students that ate at the Slytherin table. She tried to nonchalantly use magic that would impress Tom Riddle specifically. She mainly used "Accio" without opening her mouth to grab dishes she wanted to eat. No one ever commented, they were above noticing something impressive done by someone else, but Hermione was aware that they did notice.

Hermione did feel left out, however, when Christmas rolled along. She half-suspected Allie, Minerva, or Poppy to stay behind for the holidays – especially Allie, but they all left her at Hogwarts to fend for herself. She had the option of going back to the orphanage, but she knew she would be worse-off there anyway. It was just that she had begun to feel close to these new companions, and she remembered Ron and herself staying with Harry at the school on occasion, but the girls didn't even apologize for going home over the holidays. They talked as if she was going home to a family too. She began doubting the strength of these new friendships.

Tom Riddle, however, already had students staying with him. It was a Rosier and an Avery. Hermione loathed him for this. That cultist monster already had more reliable friends that she had, although she was quite certain that she could still kill all three. The silence of Christmas made her linger on what Hermione had lost, the original Hermione and what made her – her friends. She loved the emptiness of her room, though. She put silencing charms up around the room, so if she woke up screaming it wouldn't disturb the other students. She tried, several times, to sleep without the charmed pillow, but she kept reliving deaths, and ultimately woke up with a raspy throat and throbbing eyes.

Hermione was reading one night after Christmas, but before New Years, in the Slytherin common room. She had brought her pillow down with her, in case she fell asleep while reading. She had a particularly brutal night the night before, and she liked hearing the murmurs of the other students in their rooms. It reminded her of what she was fighting for and that she wasn't completely alone. Hermione fell asleep with the American "The Great Gatsby." She had been spending some of her free time reading the often newly released classic novels that she had never had the time to read before. Clearly, she also spent some of it sleeping.

There was sweet nothing for a while, no dreams at all, but Hermione wouldn't feel that nothing, instead she began to see Ron, originally smiling at her, holding her. He twined his fingers into her bushy hair (oh it was so lovely to feel her own hair thick and lively again) and kissed her. She closed her eyes. It was tight and wonderful at first, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth, but she felt him pull away, and his hands limp, twisted into her hair. When she opened her eyes again, his own eyes were wide, and his head started separating itself from its body. His arms were already gone, leaving his hands hanging separated from his limbs. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. As Ron fell apart in front of her, a figure stepped forward. Tom as the boy she knew, not as Voldemort. Her horror turned to rage, and she couldn't hold in her rage anymore.

She woke up with her temper, and she found Avery and Rosier hovering over her. Avery had her pillow in his hand. She felt it, that blanket of magic that had consumed her on the boat. This unrestrained energy surging through her every fingertip warmed her, it told her that everything was going to be all right. The reasonable Hermione didn't watch from the sidelines. The reasonable Hermione wasn't even there. She pulled out her wand and cast Wingardium Leviosa without opening her mouth, floating the two students up to the ceiling and forcing them there. She then cast a variant of Protego, pressing a barrier away from her against the two students, restricting their air intake.

The worst part of Ron's death was that she didn't see it. Ginny had come to them, to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, to tell them that there was going to be an attack on Hogwarts, and that it was all a trap to catch Harry. Harry, of course, wanted to go in to defend his friends. He said it could be a last stand, but this was in Ginny's final year, and they were still too young for a last stand. At least, Hermione thought so. Ginny said she would go to protect the school. She said graduates from all over were coming to protect the school. She said it would be fine. Harry didn't want her to be there, he wanted her to stay at the burrow where it was safe, but she would hear none of it.

Ron had told Hermione that he had to go. He said his entire family would be there, and he had to support them. Hermione had asked what about her? Was she supposed to just support herself? She yelled at him for a while, until she was tired of yelling, until she understood what he was trying to do. In the end, she let him go to his fate. She had held him tightly the night before, wrapped in a passionate embrace. She should have gone with him. She had never even thought of following the Weasley's, but she knew Ron wouldn't have let her go.

Ginny came back alone. Hermione didn't feel anything at the instant he died. She thought he'd come back with her, even though Hogwarts had fallen. Ginny was crying so hard that Hermione told herself to be strong for her. Ginny demanded that she take Ron's place in their trio. She even had Dumbledore's lighter that Ron carried. Hermione couldn't tell her that she couldn't fill his place, and Ginny tried to fill that space anyway. Hermione tried to get her to tell her about Ron's death, but she wouldn't. Just that he died defending his family and his friends. It was some no-name Death Eater that killed him, not even someone Hermione could destroy for revenge.

It wasn't the same after that. She felt cheated, not being able to hear about Ron's death. She heard about Neville's, they didn't even find his body, just a tuft of his hair. Ginny said Luna thought he still could be alive somewhere, but she also said that Luna was a bit mad, madder during the war too. Hermione knew things wouldn't be the same once she had confided in Snape and he in her. Things were wrong. Snape had terrorized them in school, they weren't supposed to be friends. Ron was supposed to have lived, and he was supposed to have lived with her. It was worse, the ways she thought up his death. She knew her imagination was worse than the truth, but she'd never receive the truth.

It could have been anyone who killed Ron. It could even have been the people she suspected, and maybe Ginny just wasn't telling her to save her from blinding revenge. It could have been one of these two, if they had been alive. It could have been one of their children or grandchildren, one of their many spawns. Avery dropped her pillow as he passed out, but it stuck against the shield charm, looking like it was floating with the two students.

"Drop them!"

Hermione turned to see Voldemort in his infantile state. She kept her wand up towards the other two students, with Rosier gasping for air. Tom didn't do anything, and Hermione just watched him. She wanted to destroy him. She wanted him to burn alive. She wanted to watch as that baby skin peeled off of his body. She knew should could use Incendio at any moment and destroy him, slowly.

She turned back as Rosier clawed against the invisible shield, looking like a fish against a chopping board. She wanted to watch him lose consciousness.

"I said drop them!" Tom shouted, grabbing Hermione's arm.

She felt his grip tighten, and she began smelling burnt flesh. In that moment something inside her snapped, and she lowered her wand. Tom Riddle noticed her eyes change from that startling dark brown back to the emerald green she had before. Avery, Rosier, and her pillow dropped to the floor with a loud thud. Tom Riddle pulled away from her, grasping his hand.

Rosier gasped, holding his throat. Avery's chest moved up and down slowly. Hermione grabbed Tom Riddle's hand to see a large burn wound. "I can heal this," she said.

She began murmuring an "Episkey" variant specifically for burns. She kept her wand hovering above Tom's wound, and her free hand held onto the back of his hand. Hermione noticed that he didn't tense up at her touch, and she highly suspected that if she had been doing this to Rosier, he'd be tense, and possibly even screaming. She didn't know if Tom was calm because he trusted her or if it was because he was curious.

After Ginny arrived, Hermione spent most of her time healing. Not because Ginny was particularly clumsy, but because Ginny took over a lot of the violence that Hermione had done before. Hermione generally stayed back in a battle to heal the other two. Before, the healing was divided between the three of them, so that they could constantly heal each other, but Ginny was better at fighting and Hermione was better at healing, so Hermione just fit into the medic role, until Ginny died and she had to play both roles again.

"You were on fire," Rosier said, catching his breath, "Were you possessed? I saw you eyes change colour. And your hair, it looks like you've been stuck by lightning."

Tom shushed him, harshly. Tom said to Hermione, "You were lucky you restricted their air flow. If they had been screaming, Slughorn would have heard for sure."

Hermione continued her chant as his dead skin cells peeled off and new skin built up in its place.

"Wait, we're not telling Slughorn?" Rosier asked. "Avery is pretty much dead."

Tom snapped, "Avery is fine, he's just unconscious." Hermione noticed the coolness in his eyes that had always made Dumbledore cautious of the student. Tom continued, "And I see no reason why we should tell Slughorn. We're fine, and Abercorn is fixing her only mistake."

"Hermione," she replied, stopping her chanting. "I don't want to be reduced to my last name. And I don't care who you tell. It was a mistake. You woke me up from a particularly bad dream. What were you three doing loitering over my body anyway?"

She noticed Rosier and Tom exchange looks, but they didn't reply at all. Tom lightly pulled his hand away from Hermione's. "I can fix it more," Hermione said. "There's still a scar."

"It's fine," Tom said. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Avery began to groan as he drifted back into consciousness. Rosier helped him sit up off the floor. Neither of the two had any serious injuries from hitting the floor, only bruises, and neither Hermione nor Tom made any movement to heal these small wounds. "What happened?" Avery asked. "I just remember coming downstairs to-"

"You and Rosier woke Hermione up from a nightmare and she stunned you in what she thought was defence," Tom said, methodically, as if he was casting obliviate on him. "What were you dreaming of anyway, Hermione?"

"I'd rather not discuss it," Hermione replied.

Rosier scoffed. "It's the least you could do," he said. "We did get beaten up for it."

"I'd rather not discuss it," Hermione repeated. "As far as I'm concerned, you deserved what you got."

"Go upstairs," Tom said, to Rosier and Avery. "Avery needs some sleep."

Rosier seemed satisfied, as if Tom would say and do the things that he wanted to do, as if he could solve the anger he felt. Rosier helped Avery up the stairs to their room, leaving Tom alone with Hermione. Hermione wanted to leave. She hadn't expected to lose control so easily, and despite how close she came to killing them, she still remembered how wonderful it felt to be consumed by the magic.

"I think I'm going to go to my room," Hermione said, picking her pillow off the floor.

"Did you destroy the boat?" Tom asked.

Hermione hesitated. "Accidentally, yes," Hermione replied.

"I'm not going to tell Slughorn," Tom said. "And they're not either."

Hermione snapped, "Don't think I'm going to be grateful, and I'm not going to grovel at your feet like your little friends. I don't care if you tell him or not. It doesn't matter if you do."

"I just wanted you to know," Tom said, emotionless.

"Well, it's good to know," Hermione replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get some sleep."

Hermione felt his eyes on her as she walked past him to go to her own room. She didn't know that Tom Riddle would fall asleep, thinking of Hermione Abercorn watching him, with those big brown eyes, with her entire body aflame, licking off of her skin and her clothes as if she herself was the sun. He couldn't stop thinking about all that power just pouring off this girl.

Hermione couldn't help but feel a chill crawl up her spine as he said, "Sweet dreams."


	7. Be Safe, You Say

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Seven: Be Safe, You Say

Hermione had her bushy hair back. It stayed black, and her eyes stayed green, but her hair kept the fullness that was her signature. In private, she couldn't stop touching it. She had forgotten how soft it was, and how wonderful it was. She wouldn't press it down with anymore charms, she promised herself. It was nice to have some part of her old self back.

She always slept with her charmed pillow now. She would fall asleep thinking of a live Ron, not always of passionate embraces, but sometimes just warm memories, and she would wake up with a feeling of uneasiness, but the unease was better than the alternative.

The rest of the year went by in a heartbeat. Papers, classes, endless sessions and books, and quidditch. McGonagall was the announcer, although Hermione knew she'd rather be playing (but there weren't any openings on the team), and her announcements reminded her of Lee Jordan's, without a Professor correcting her biases. Slytherin's team of students who resembled fridges easily plowed the other teams this year, so Slytherin won for the year. Minerva fumed for the rest of the term.

Hermione couldn't keep what had happened with Tom from Allie, who noticed the hair change right away, but after Hermione confided in her, she offered no advice. None of the three had told Slughorn, like Tom said, but she noticed the weaker two avoided her, and Tom was always in the corner of her eye. He began taking an interest in the library, reading where Viktor Crum had read in the library during his stay at Hogwarts.

After the Christmas break, Allie brought back an enchanted trunk and a pensieve. She also had an array of potion bottles for them to summon if they needed to quickly take out memories, and various ingredients in case they ever needed to throw together a potion. Allie presented a leather schoolbag for Hermione, and Hermione took to it right away. She loved it. It was just plain enough that she could carry it anywhere inconspicuously. She cast an undetectable extension charm on the bag while in the Room of Requirement. They also decided to keep the trunk in their version of the Room of Requirement. They decided it would be harder to break into the trunk if whoever stumbled upon it didn't know whose it was, and they'd be more likely to leave it alone.

But the school year ended and everyone parted ways. Ravenclaw won the house cup with a 400 point lead. Hermione heard later that Professor Fronsac had begun giving out points for small things, like tying shoes, or holding out your smallest finger when drinking tea, to give his house the benefit. Apparently the old Professor was a bit too enthusiastic about his house, and the position of Head of Ravenclaw house was open again, although Professor Fronsac got to keep his position as the Charms instructor. Hermione even overhead some students using Professor Narayan's name in a positive light for the head of house.

However, no one offered to let Hermione stay during the summer, and the summer crawled by. They left the trunk at Hogwarts in the Room of Requirement so that they wouldn't have to lug it back the following year. Hermione spent the summer scrawling out a timeline, recording most of her memories that were time-related, and just reading for entertainment. She exchanged a few owls with Allie, Minerva, and Poppy, but nothing too groundbreaking. Allie was very careful with what she wrote down to Hermione, and Hermione was careful back, although she wasn't sure why.

The other children from the orphanage continued avoiding her. Even some of the new children didn't seem to approach her. Hermione suspected there were rumours floating around about her, assuming that Hermione had been a bit of a monster before she possessed this body. She wondered if Snape would have forced the original soul out if it had survived a reasonable amount of time.

Soon she was back on the train to her home, Hogwarts. She shared a car with Allie, Poppy, and Minerva. Minerva took over the conversation by talking about a summer qudditch match she went to. Poppy kept her nose in what Hermione suspected was a frivolous romance novel by the look of the cover. Allie looked to be listening intently to what Minerva was discussing. Poppy, sighing, changed the conversation to Hogsmeade. It would be Poppy and Minerva's first year visiting, and both of them had their permission slips signed and ready.

"I am going to buy endless sweets," Allie said, trying to join the conversation. "I just have to figure out a way to eat them in class without anyone condemning me for it."

"Are you looking forward to going next year, Hermione?" Poppy asked.

Hermione noticed Poppy always made sure to include Hermione in whatever they were talking about. She was the one that always slid over when Hermione needed a seat, and she suspected that Poppy would be the first to invite her to do anything, although no one had even considered it yet. She thought that Poppy might feel sorry for her.

Hermione shrugged in reply. "I don't know how I would get permission," Hermione replied, "And I don't have any coin to buy anything."

"Poppy volunteers at the hospital wing here at the school," Minerva replied. "Perhaps you could talk Dippet into giving you a bit of coin for helping out with something."

"Really?" Hermione asked.

Hermione had been trying to decide how she would bring in any income in the future, if she wasn't locked up in Azkaban, and it would be perfect for her to start saving up now. It'd also give her something to keep her mind busy in her spare time. She kept fairly busy now, but she could always use a new focus.

"You do have top marks in your year," Poppy replied, nodding. "You could probably get Professor Binns and Professor Narayan to vouch for you."

Poppy and Minerva only knew that Hermione was working with Professor Narayan. Neither of them were aware of what she was doing or why, but neither of them had ever asked either.

Hermione looked to Allie who just smiled thoughtfully. Part of her wondered why Allie hadn't mentioned it to her earlier, especially since she knew Poppy was volunteering at the school. Hermione hadn't known about the volunteering before, just that she disappeared every once and a while from their group. She just assumed Poppy was doing school work. Maybe part of the reason why she hadn't been invited to social events was because she wasn't really connected with anyone.

"Thank you for bringing that to my attention," Hermione replied. "How was your summer, Poppy?"

Minerva began flipping through a magazine devoted to Quidditch. Hermione's eyes got distracted a few times from the members flying across the back cover to the front cover.

"It was pretty interesting, actually," Poppy replied. "I was volunteering as... well what Muggle society would consider a candy striper-"

Allie chimed in, "I wish we used that name for them too. It makes the job much more appealing."

Giving Allie a look of slight confusion, Poppy continued, "Well, while I wasn't actually doing any hands-on work, like I sometimes get to do here, I got to observe a lot of interesting illnesses and cures. Luckily, most of the witches want to be in any sort of child-oriented ward, so I get to see the interesting stuff. I couldn't deal with handling kids every day. Some of the things the students do here are frustrating enough. At least I have no question now about how I want to spend my life."

"Are you going to volunteer next summer?" Hermione asked. "There could be an influx from the war, and I imagine the injuries would be more gruesome and not just the physical injuries either."

Hermione noticed Allie stiffen beside her, and Minerva looked up from her Qudditch magazine to look at Hermione. War had only been declared a few days earlier in Wizarding society, and everyone was just waiting for it to be declared in the Muggle world as well. Everyone knew that once there was a parallel Muggle war, things were serious. The Muggle war would explain any extraordinary developments in technology or strange things in the sky, and it would also allow people to overlook movements in the wizarding society that weren't as covered. Hermione knew that Grindelwald had a few of his followers undercover in Muggle society to help stir the pot, although they were more advisors to advisors. Their roles would never be recording in Muggle history books.

Hermione remembered how the Ministry had tried to cover up Voldemort's two wars with natural disasters and the like, but Hermione theorized that Grindelwald had more to lose by exposing magical society to the Muggles. Voldemort simply wanted to destroy them all, whereas Grindelwald wanted to have control over them and possibly a control from the sidelines.

However, Poppy just gave Hermione a soft smile, as if Hermione's question was a bit naive. "That's more a reason to be there. I would like to do all that I can," Poppy replied. "Do you really think it'll last that long though? I think our Ministry should-"

"Oh please," Minerva said. "Our Ministry can't urinate without filling out four textbooks of forms, and that's after they have the Daily Prophet's approval behind them. I don't think they'll be so eager to step in and solve the East's problem, even though they probably have the military force to do so."

"I think that's just your parent's talking," Poppy said. "Really, I have never met another student as close-minded as you about the Ministry."

"I'm sorry Poppy," Minerva replied, "But you do realize that your social circle is limited to three people, none of which are actually in your house. I bet those Ravenclaws have strong political opinions-"

"But they're so boring," Poppy said. "At least I get to watch you risk death flying at ridiculous speeds every day."

"And what about Allie and Hermione?" Minerva replied. "What are you getting out of their friendship?"

"Variety?" Poppy asked. "I get a Slytherin who hasn't done anything backhanded yet, except, as you theorize, possibly demolish a boat-"

Hermione's cheeks began to burn at this comment. She didn't think Minerva had any negative feelings towards her, she thought that Minerva hardly even thought of her.

"Do you really still believe that Minerva?" Allie asked. "You've greatly improved the girl's flying ability and yet you still doubt-"

"What do you think of the Ministry's involvement in the war, Allie?" Minerva asked sharply.

Hermione felt that the question was less of a distraction and more of an accusation. In their group, Allie rarely hesitated to voice her opinion when it came to frivolous matters, and this was the first serious matter their little group had come onto to discuss.

Allie hesitated for a moment. "I think Grindelwald is afraid of Dumbledore," she said, somewhat reluctantly. Her blue eyes didn't have the same sparkle, and Hermione could feel the tension in the room rising. "It doesn't matter what the Ministry does until Dumbledore steps in. I believe wizards from Britain will go over and fight without the Ministry's involvement, but it will not do anything until Dumbledore faces that man."

Minerva looked at Allie cautiously. She replied, "I don't think I've ever heard you talk about Dumbledore before. I never thought you cared for his teaching methods."

As Allie opened her mouth to reply, the door to their section opened abruptly. It was Lucretia Black, who would later be a Prewett. She was in Allie's year.

"Oi, Abercorn," Lucretia said. "Riddle's looking all over the train for you. He bought some desserts to share with you."

"You can tell him 'No thank you,'" Hermione replied. "I'm saving my hunger for the feast."

"I'm not his bloody messenger. Tell him yourself," she replied.

Minerva said, "Yeah, since when do you follow a second year's orders anyway, Lucretia? I always pegged you for more of a leader than a follower."

Lucretia puffed up. "I ran into him on the way back to my own compartment. He didn't order me to do anything, I was just trying to help a housemate out, not that any of you riffraff would understand what house loyalty means."

"Oh please," Minerva said. "Like I'm going to listen to this lecture from a Slytherin. You lot are more likely to backstab each other than anyone from the other houses. I don't trust them as far as I can throw them, and a lot of you are pretty large."

"I guess it's lucky for me that you have one of us in your group. Maybe she'll backstab you and save me the trouble," Lucretia replied and left.

"What a hag," Minerva announced loudly, clearly hoping that Lucretia would hear.

Then there was silence, and Hermione suspected the others were thinking about Hermione's loyalty, even Allie. She felt so uncomfortable she actually considered seeking out Tom Riddle and eating some of his sweets.

"I trust you, Hermione," Poppy broke the silence, "Even if you did destroy that boat. I can't see you intentionally hurting one of us. Another Slytherin, maybe, but not us."

Minerva crossed her arms, but said nothing. Allie, too, contributed nothing.

Hermione said, "I appreciate that, truly I do. I wouldn't hurt any of you, even if my life depended on it."

Minerva sniffed, which Hermione thought was doubt. The silence didn't remain the entire train ride, but it remained just long enough for Hermione to worry about the stability of these friendships. She even considered diving head first into Tom's world, at least her interest in him would seem more convincing without a couple of Gryffindors looming around her. The more she thought about it, even when the conversation came back into the compartment, the more she thought she may have to leave these friends behind – even Allie for a time. But she wasn't going to hurt them. She wasn't going to let any of them get hurt again.


	8. As Different as can Be

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.  
A/N: Sorry about the mistake when uploading this chapter. Thanks to , you go girl, and Mwhahahaha18 for letting me know! (And for reviewing too!)

Chapter Eight: As Different as can Be

Tom Riddle had never sought out Hermione on the train nor had he ever confronted her on the issue of snacks. Hermione suspected that Lucretia did tell Tom her response, even though Lucretia claimed that she wouldn't at all. Hermione had to admit, it was strange how the upper years were listening to Tom. He just had that sort of charm about him that made everyone else listen when he talked.

However, he didn't leave Hermione alone. During their classes, he had wedged himself into her group of girls. In their group of four for Herbology, Tom and the Lestrange boy joined her and Audley, forcing Yaxley and Abbot to work with Rosier and Avery. In classes without groups, Tom simply sat beside Hermione, even going as far as asking other students to move out of his seat. When he did this in Transfiguration, Hermione couldn't help but notice Dumbledore flinch at the thought of them getting close. Dumbledore wasn't as suspicious of Allie as he was of Tom and Hermione.

The worst, however, was in potions. Hermione sat with Audley like she did the year before. Audley had greatly depended on Hermione for this course because she was weak with potions. Originally, Audley just let Hermione do the entire potion each class, but after a failed test, Audley started helping more in an attempt to improve herself. So when Tom told her to move, Lucy Audley put her foot down. Her blue eyes narrowed fiercely. "I don't know what you're up to, Thomas Riddle," Audley said, "But I am not moving away from Hermione Abercorn."

The boy stiffened. "First of all, my name is Tom. I prefer filthy half-breeds like you call me Riddle," he snarled. "Now get out of my seat."

"Fine," Audley replied, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder. "Come on Hermione, there's a free bench for us in the next row."

Hermione got up off her chair to move with Audley. She decided any reason to defy Tom would only make him try harder. However, Tom put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and forced her back onto the stool. She slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me," Hermione snarled.

She stood up to stare directly into Tom Riddle's black eyes. He stayed stoic, showing less emotion to her than he had to Audley. The entire class was quiet, even the Gryffindors who had class with them. Hermione didn't know that among her friends she was considered the brightest and toughest of them, and the group of Slytherin girls in her year had already lost points to Slytherin for ripping out hair and breaking noses. They didn't take Hermione's silent nature to be snobby or weak. They could just feel the energy pouring off of her every night and know that she would be able to pack a punch, magical or something more base and human.

"I fear you are underestimating the value of my friendship, Hermione," Tom replied, calmly.

He pulled his wand out of his pocket. Hermione slid hers down her sleeve, so Tom could see it. "I think you're overestimating it," Hermione said. The shelves began to vibrate, and the potion bottles scattered around the rooms began to clink and they bumped against one another. Hermione didn't worry about the anachronistic language that came from her mouth, "You think you're hot shit just because you smooth talk everyone into doing what you want. I don't think I've ever seen you do one thing remarkable without some Slytherin behind you."

Finally, Hermione could catch the anger in the boy's eyes. His lips twisted into a scowl and he was ready to prove to Hermione he could smash her face up without another Slytherin behind him. Maybe then she'd respect him and listen to him like everyone else. Hermione, of course, was ready to tear him apart right there. She was just waiting for an excuse.

But Professor Slughorn walked in before either could even think of a spell of cast. "My my," Slughorn said, looking around. "What's gotten everyone so quiet?"

Audley spoke up, "Tom tried to bully me out of my seat. I wanted to sit beside Hermione because she had helped me so much with potions last year, and Tom doesn't even need the help."

The shelves stopped shaking as Hermione's anger faded, but she still kept her eyes locked onto Tom's.

"Is that why your marks improved over the course of the year, Miss Audley?" Slughorn asked. "I had no idea that Miss. Acorn had that sort of influence on you."

"Abercorn, sir," Audley replied.

"I had just thought I was a remarkable Professor," Slughorn continued. Most of the students went back to their own business as it seemed like nothing was going to happen. "I suppose I should give Miss. Abercorn a closer look."

He walked over to Hermione and Tom. He straightened out his walrus moustache with a finger as he examined the two closely. "You two have your wands out and everything," Professor Slughorn said. "There is clearly only one solution for this. You two should work together to work out your problems. If Miss. Abercorn is as bright as the rumours in the staff room, you two should be able to make some remarkable potions in my class."

"But sir," Audley cut in.

"Miss Audley, it's time for you to learn on your own. It looks like Mr. Lestrange over there is missing a partner. His marks are somewhat unremarkable, but maybe you'll be able to learn with the rest of your class without Miss. Abercorn holding your hand," Professor Slughorn replied.

Defeated, Audley moved to sit with Lestrange in the back. She looked like she couldn't decide who to be more upset with, Tom or Professor Slughorn.

Slughorn continued, "I'm also going to have to take twenty points from Slytherin for this outburst. I can't have my own students embarrassing me in my own class, and in front of the Gryffindors too. I can just picture the smug face Albus Dumbledore would have on if something had happened."

By the end of the class, Hermione was officially a member of the Slug Club.


	9. So I Run to the River, It was Bleedin'

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.  
A/N: I've decided to post another chapter because of my mistake in the last one. Also, for some reason one of the usernames I was thanking did not appear. I wanted to thank StKookaburra for being one of the readers who posted about the mistake.

Chapter Nine: So I Run to the River, It was Bleedin'

That night, Hermione's roommates found themselves talking about the events surrounding that day. They had been observing Tom's penetration into their circle, but they had suspected it could have been either Audley or Hermione. Now that they were certain who it was Tom was after, they had more opportunity to discuss it.

Yaxley and Abbot were clearly jealous of Hermione's attention. Several days earlier, the four of them had been discussing the boys in their year, the ones who they could possibly like, and the ones who were the most attractive. They all agreed, even Hermione for conformity's sake, that Tom was the most attractive. Yaxley liked him because he seemed like a lost puppy. Abbot thought he looked like he had a noble's face. Audley simply thought he was easy on the eyes.

But Lucy Audley now loathed the boy, not only for taking Hermione away from her, but also for embarrassing her in front of the entire class. She also didn't care for Lestrange, the boy's who appearance she liked least. She also complained that he smelled. Hermione assured Audley that she would tutor her in potions if she needed any extra assistance.

"You say that now," Audley said, "But when Tom Riddle has you brainwashed like the rest of them, you won't be able to see me through your rose-coloured glasses."

"I'm the last person who will see Tom Riddle that way," Hermione said. "Trust me."

"Slughorn had a point though," Yaxley cut in. "You can't always depend on Hermione to do your assignments for you. It's better you that learn now-"

"Oh shut up, you yak. You're just jealous that I had Hermione to help me. You know how much I could do on my own. I even remember helping you on one of your essays," Audley snapped.

"Lucy," Abbot scolded, "You're not allowed to take your temper out on us. Maybe you should go back to the common room and calm down."

"Fine I will," Audley replied. "It was beginning to smell like hag in here."

As soon as Audley left, Yaxley and Abbot interrogated Hermione about everything she knew about Tom Riddle. They wanted to know what hand he used to write and what his printing was like. Hermione wasn't able to answer all of their questions, but as soon as she hesitated to answer one, they had a new one to ask. These inane questions continued until two-thirty in the morning. When Hermione checked the time, she realized that Audley hadn't come back yet. She excused herself to check for her in the common room. Hermione's stomach turned as she walked down the stairs to the common room.

Hermione saw Audley's small body curled up in a chair by the fire. Hermione exhaled, thinking that she had just fallen asleep in her chair. When Hermione got closer, the wave of relief she had been feeling suddenly warded off. Audley wasn't asleep, she was unconscious. Blood dripped from the girl's eyes, and her right hand was clenching something loosely. Hermione opened Lucy's delicate fingers to see her baby blues eyes sitting in her palm.

Hermione bit off the tip of her tongue suppressing a scream. She conjured a jar and levitated Lucy's eyes into the jar, so she wouldn't damage them from touching them, and to save herself the horror of feeling the eyes. She tried to rouse Lucy, but she didn't move. Hermione put a finger under Lucy's nose, and she felt her breathing against the finger. Hermione used mobilicorpus to levitate Lucy's body behind herself as she walked into the hallway. She rushed Lucy to the hospital wing, hoping to run into someone patrolling the hallways. She didn't see a soul, not even one of the ghosts could be seen. As much as she wanted to scream, Hermione knew it would only cause more panic.

The door to the hospital wing was always open, so all Hermione had to do was move the body onto one of the beds. She placed the jar with Audley's eyes on the nightstand and rushed off to find the nurse or anyone. Hermione's heart pounded in her eyes, she could feel her own blood surging behind her eyes. She had no doubt it was Tom Riddle who had destroyed her friend.

Word spread quickly, and the entire teaching staff, the nurse, and Poppy Pomfrey surrounded Audley's bed. They would have to send her to St. Mungo's, the nurse thought. The eyes seemed to have been carved out with an enchanted knife. The nurse wasn't sure they would be able to grow the eyes back. Poppy stood beside Hermione and squeezed her hand.

Professor Slughorn was absolutely furious. Even when Hermione had seen Professor Slughorn mad, he always seemed to be unable to take his anger seriously. But now, with his face beet red, his fists clenched tightly, Hermione found herself quivering.

Dumbledore cast Prior Incantato on Hermione's wand first. When Dumbledore proposed this, Professor Saqi said, "Are you mad? Why would the girl levitate her victim into the infirmary? We're wasting time, while the real-"

"Please Saqi," Dumbledore said. The nightmare prevention charm along with the spells Hermione used in class appeared floating out from Hermione's wand. "She could have been doing it to look innocent. We have to check everyone."

Professor Slughorn snarled, "I'll get the Slytherin kids up and I'll start checking the little monsters. I can't believe the deviant thoughts that go through their stupid heads."

"I'll give you a hand," Professor Beery said with a tone of concern.

Dippet said, "I suppose I'll have to contact the girl's parents."

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps you should do that before we've had her moved to St. Mungo's. Maybe they would prefer a different hospital."

"Of course," Dippet replied. "I just can't imagine something like this happening at my school."

He left the room with Professor Fronsac. The remainder of the staff either stayed for help, went to follow-up with Professor Slughorn, or went to contact St. Mungo's to let the nurse stay with Audley, who still remained unconscious. Only Dumbledore and Saqi stayed with Hermione. Hermione surprised herself at how much she was shaking.

"Your mouth is bleeding," Saqi said to Hermione. "Open up, and let me have a look at your tongue."

Healing Hermione's tongue was simple enough. Hermione knew how to do it herself, and she would have if no one noticed the injury. However, Dumbledore kept a stern look at her.

"A nightmare prevention charm," Dumbledore said. "Where did you learn this?"

"She spends a lot of time in the library," Saqi replied.

"I am speaking to the student, Saqi," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps you should escort your own student back to her dormitory."

Dumbledore meant Poppy, of course. Saqi had brought her along when he heard it was an infirmary matter, and he thought that the budding nurse could be able to help. Professor Narayan had also been promoted to Head of Ravenclaw over the summer. He wasn't overly excited about it, and he took to his new position professionally.

Professor Saqi rolled his eyes and left the room with Poppy, allowing Dumbledore to turn back to Hermione. "Where did you learn the charm?" he repeated.

"Professor Narayan was right," Hermione replied. "I saw it in the library, so I thought I'd test it out. I perfected it last year, and I was just starting using it this year. I've been using it on a pillow." On the inside, she thanked Professor Saqi for giving her a good lie.

Hermione could feel Professor Dumbledore using legilimens on her. She only blocked out what she needed to, like Allie teaching her the charm, but she didn't block out her casting the charm on her pillow. She hoped that the images that he received wouldn't allow him to notice that a few pieces of the puzzle were missing.

"I am distressed by your increasing association with Mr. Tom Riddle," Dumbledore said. "Professor Narayan thinks very highly of you, and I realize there has been no new incident since the boat, but I am still concerned-"

"I am also concerned about Tom's determination to befriend me," Hermione said. She went on to explain the events from that afternoon including Audley's rage in the evening. Hermione admitted she handled the encounter with Tom in the afternoon poorly, but she said it was possible he had done something to Audley to prove Hermione wrong.

Hermione couldn't help but see the relief in Dumbledore's eyes. Perhaps he would begin to see Hermione as more of an ally than as anything else. He asked several other questions about the incident between her and Tom, and he didn't bring up the nightmare charm again. Hermione wasn't sure if he forgot, or if he was just saving to bring it up for later.

Dumbledore escorted Hermione to the Ravenclaw dorm and told her to stay with Poppy. Poppy was still up in the common room talking to Professor Narayan. The two Professors left, leaving the students to wonder what would happen. Poppy didn't ask any questions, she just sat quietly with a small smile, looking from the fireplace to Hermione once and a while.


	10. Someone Give me my Shot or I'll Rot Here

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Ten: Someone Give me my Shot or I'll Rot Here

Classes were cancelled the following morning. They had found the student who had done it. It was the Lestrange boy. Lucy Audley had made a fuss because she had to sit beside him, and it turned out that over supper she had been calling him horrible things with him there. Audley had never had much censorship and had a terrible temper, so if someone asked a Slytherin about it, it was general consensus that it would have happened to her eventually. Lestrange was expelled, and Audley's father was pressing charges on the student. It was possible he would be facing some jail time. Audley's eyes would grow back, but there was serious scarring around the eyes, which ruined what Lucy Audley had considered her very good looks.

Hermione was surprised at how disappointed she felt when she heard that it was Lestrange and not Tom. She convinced herself that Tom Riddle must have played a part, perhaps just a whisper of a suggestion, or even helping him enchant the knife. Tom never implied to Hermione that he had played a part in it. He simply went about his day as if one of his friends hadn't been expelled from school. He pretended the whole thing didn't exist. But there was no proof either way, so Hermione decided kept up her theory in her head if only to continue fuelling her rage for Tom.

She didn't come back until halfway through the year. Hermione was surprised at how little had actually happened. Hermione got a job working with the librarian, Madam James. Dippet agreed to pay her an appropriate salary. After the chaos calmed down, Dippet told Hermione that he was impressed with how she had handled Audley's situation, and he was even more impressed that she had bit off part of her tongue to keep from screaming. All of the Professors knew that little detail, and she suspected that Professor Narayan told any Professor who would listen.

The Muggle world was officially at war too. The students were a little tense, but no serious signs of panic were showing in the students. When Dippet had announced the declaration of war, the students grew quiet. Most of them spent the evening writing home to their parents.

Hermione was on civil terms with Tom Riddle. They discussed school and school only. If Tom tried to be too personal with Hermione, she changed the topic. She also began to loathe the way he managed to make her laugh from time to time. Sometimes she forgot that it was a monster that worked beside her.

Allie, however, was becoming increasingly distant. Hermione had bottled some of her worst memories and other memories that could help Allie see the war without hindering Hermione's thinking capacity. Hermione had taken out the memory of Harry's death. She knew it happened, she just couldn't remember exactly how it had happened. Hermione wasn't sure if Allie's silence was because she was busy reviewing Hermione's memories, or if it was something else. They only met Tuesdays and Thursdays to let off their energy, and Allie no longer made idle conversation when doing so. Hermione noticed something playful that she had always seen in Allie was missing, and it was missing with the Dumbledore from this timeline as well. Something serious was happening.

It was in March that Hermione found out why Allie was acting like she was. Hermione was training with Professor Narayan, who still made time for sessions with Hermione, when the Professor startled her. He said, "I've seen a great improvement in your energy control. You're still holding something back, but you're much better at controlling it. We're going to end these sessions for the year, and possibly for next year as well. If you're ever concerned, or if anything happens, you can go to Professor Dumbledore and he'll be able to give you help."

Hermione asked one simple question, "Why are we stopping?"

"I'm leaving," Professor Narayan replied. "I have relatives in the East, and I have to go there to make sure they're all right. If they'll leave, I'm bringing them back here."

"And if they won't leave?"

"Well, I'm staying with them. They're my family," Professor Saqi said.

Hermione smiled, thinking of her own family: her parents, Ron, Harry, the Weasley's, all of them. "I understand," she said. "Best of luck, Professor Saqi."

"And you Miss. Abercorn," he said.

Of course, Hermione figured out the future. Allie was trying to prevent Professor Narayan from leaving. He obviously died during the war. Hermione rushed off to tell Allie, not to tell her she solved it, but so that Allie could play out any plan she had before it was too late. Hermione hoped she could help, but she promised herself she wouldn't press to help.

Hermione changed their protean charm to the time now, and she waited outside of the Room of Requirement so that no time would be wasted. Hermione imagined that Professor Narayan was leaving immediately. Allie came soon enough, and Hermione quickly explained what Saqi had said to her. Allie said, "Let's go to Dumbledore's office."

The two of them rushed to Dumbledore's office. As they were walking, Allie explained, "Saqi has stayed longer in this timeline than he had in the original timeline. I thought perhaps you were helping to keep him here. That's why I wanted to lessen our meetings, so that you would need more training."

Hermione wondered for a moment how far Allie would go to keep Saqi here. Would she tell Dumbledore that she knew something bad was going to happen to him? "So what happened to him?" Hermione asked. "Did he sacrifice himself to defend his family?"

"No," Allie replied. "They were all killed. And he was tortured to give information on Hogwarts and myself. His fingers were ripped off one by one. By the time I got there, he didn't have any fingers left and they were starting on his teeth. He wasn't the same after that, and I don't blame him. He never went back to teaching."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said.

"We won't be sorry this time," Allie said. "If that man leaves this school, I'm following him."

When they were approaching Dumbledore's office, they noticed Professor Narayan slide in. He didn't close the door behind himself. Allie and Hermione took this opportunity to linger by the door and eavesdrop. Neither of them knew if their Professors knew that they were eavesdropping, but they weren't scolded, so they stayed.

"Albus," Saqi said. "I was hoping to have a word with you."

"Of course, Saqi," Albus replied. "I'm just marking papers. They can wait."

Hermione and Allie heard Dumbledore shuffle his papers around.

"I have family in Germany," Saqi said. "I have to go to get them out. I didn't think the war would last this long, and they can't stay there if it is going to last longer."

"Saqi, you can't just go. Have you talked to Armando yet?" Dumbledore asked. "You have responsibilities here. You just got the promotion you've wanted for years."

"You don't understand," Saqi said. "My family is there."

"What about Hermione Abercorn? What is she supposed to do without you?" Dumbledore asked.

"She's a bright girl," Saqi said. "I told her to talk to you if she was having any problems. You and I both know you have more than enough time to help her."

"I think that was out of line," Albus replied. "We don't know if I'll have enough time, and the girl has clearly bonded with you."

Saqi hesitated before saying, "She's not your sister Albus. Hermione will be fine. Hermione isn't suppressing to fit in. I haven't figured out why she's suppressing, or what kind of energy she is suppressing, but she will be fine. I have to protect my family."

"What about the other students?" Albus snapped. "What if something like the boat happens again?"

"If the girl cannot handle the situation, then you and the staff will," Saqi said. "I have sat on my hands for too long. I can't wait any longer."

"So you're just leaving tonight?" Albus asked, clearly distressed. "You're just up and going?"

"Yes," Saqi replied. "Are you going to come with me?"

"Of course not," Albus replied. "This is absolutely ridiculous, not to mention unprofessional. You can't just leave all your students and responsibilities behind."

"I didn't think you'd understand," Saqi replied, calmly. "My family is my responsibility. They have been from day one. The students, they'll get other professors, but I don't have another family. Hermione, she understands. That girl has seen much more than you or I could even imagine. But by all means, Albus, stay here with your surrogate family. Try to fix your past mistakes by helping everyone, or repeat those past mistakes, no one will notice!"

"You are speaking out of line Saqi. I don't understand your hostility," Dumbledore said. "You can't just leave everything behind you-"

"Watch me," Saqi said.

"There won't be a job for you if you even make it back here," Albus said. "Don't even bother checking."

"Don't worry," Saqi said. "I won't."

Saqi tripped over Hermione on his way out of Dumbledore's office. "I'm sorry," he replied, helping Hermione up. "Good luck with dealing with him."

"I can hear you," Albus said. "All of you."

"Just because he doesn't care about his family, doesn't mean you shouldn't care about yours," Saqi said to Hermione, "Whoever they may be."

"Thank you," Hermione said.

That's when Allie spoke up, "I'm going with you, sir."

"Allison Ejiofor, am I correct?" Saqi asked.

"You are, sir," she replied.

"And why are you going with me?" Saqi asked.

"To protect my family."

Saqi smiled and said, "Good girl."

Albus stepped out of his office. "You cannot recruit underage wizards on your thoughtless adventure," he said.

"She volunteered," Saqi replied. "I'll see you in the next life, Albus."

Saqi walked off with his hand on Allie's back. Hermione hoped they would both be all right.

Albus said, "Good luck," long after they were able to hear it.

Hermione and Albus stood together for a few moments, and then Albus turned to Hermione. "Do you have anything to tell me, Miss Abercorn?" he asked.

"Yes sir," she said.

"Well, what is it?" he asked.

"Professor Narayan will be all right."

"Of course, Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore replied. "And I expect you to come to me if you need any assistance with what Professor Narayan has been teaching you."

"I will, sir," Hermione replied.

"Then I ask you to leave me with my papers to grade and my thoughts to ponder," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, sir," Hermione said. She smiled, and attempted to lighten the mood: "I don't suppose you're marking one of mine?"

"If I were Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore said sternly, "It would be getting an exceptional grade." Dumbledore offered her a wink.


	11. We Roll Right through Our Years

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Eleven: We Roll Right through Our Years

Hermione was devastated to lose Allie, her only connection to her past life. Allie didn't send any owls or give any word of her and Saqi's safety. She even felt distanced from Minerva and Poppy. She felt like a third wheel hanging out with only them. So when Audley came back, Hermione spent more time with her. Audley hung off Hermione as much as possible. She had changed much, her temper was still present, but she wasn't as vocal. She would complain to the girls later, instead of expressing it in the moment. Her self-esteem faded too, and she didn't stand up for herself in an argument anymore.

Allie's parents were furious with Allie's disappearance. She didn't report to them before she left, and her parents gave Armando Dippet quite an earful for letting one of his students just disappear. However, with all of hassle of the war, there were too many missing persons for the Ministry to do anything to find Allie directly. There were simply "Missing" posters hanging around with the others who were missing, where the lanky Allie Ejiofor winked mischievously from her poster.

But Hermione wasn't alone for the summer. Lucy Audley insisted on Hermione staying with her. Hermione knew if the girl had the power, she would have adopted Hermione herself. Lucy was an only child, and her wizard mother passed away long before. Her father raised her, and he was a Muggle. Mr. Audley had bought a bed specifically for Hermione and rearranged Lucy's room so it would be fit.

Mr. Audley was exceedingly wealthy. Lucy admitted in private that it was the reason her mother had married him. She didn't tell Hermione how her mother had died, and Hermione never inquired. Hermione enjoyed her summer. Lucy may have been vain, but she did read avidly. She didn't have the same opinion as the other students of muggle books; she saw the merit in them. Her father worked long hours, and the girl had always been very lonely. She saw a bit of herself in the scarred girl. They spent a long time discussing English Literature. Lucy had a fondness for the Brontës, but she was interested in reading everything with a story. She liked historical fiction, but not straight history textbooks. Hermione loved the feeling of sitting in silence with the girl as they read separate books together. It reminded her of when Harry and Ron would be playing chess as she researched information for their next adventure. Hermione wondered if Lestrange had torn out Lucy's eyes in her timeline as well, but left her for dead.

By the end of the summer, Mr. Audley asked to speak to Hermione privately. "Lucy is all I have, you know," he said. "I was devastated when I found out what that monster did to her. I've looked into surgery to fix those scars, but Lucy will have none of it. She insists there isn't anything to be done."

He sighed, and he looked at Hermione fixedly. "She's changed a lot over this year. I thought she changed a lot last year, but it's been nothing compared to this year. I don't think she would have been all right if it hadn't been for you. I wanted to thank you, you have no idea how much it means to me."

He continued, "But we're living in dangerous times. I would not be surprised if this comes to England. I don't know much about you wizard's part in the war, but I do know about our part in it. So I am going to have to ask you for a favour, Hermione Abercorn."

"Anything, sir," Hermione replied.

Mr. Audley had been extremely hospitable to Hermione. He would buy whatever she needed, new clothes, her new textbooks. He helped Hermione set up a bank account at Gringotts, one that collected interest too. He talked about getting Hermione her own owl, but Hermione felt that it was too much. She was ready to do whatever he asked for, even if it meant changing history.

"I want you to protect my daughter," he said.

Hermione smiled. "I would have done so without you asking," she assured him.

"No, I don't think you fully understand what I am asking. I want you to protect her always. I want to adopt you so you have no excuse to stray from her side," he said.

Hermione accepted and hugged Mr. Audley tightly. Somehow Hermione managed to twine herself into a family again. When she went back to Hogwarts the following year, she was a part of something again.

This year also brought Hagrid, Olive Hornby, and Moaning Myrtle into the school. Hermione noticed that Hagrid stuck out like a sore thumb. Hermione, who was on better terms with Poppy than Minerva, approached Poppy and mentioned that perhaps they should take the boy under their wings.

"I trust your judgement, Hermione," Poppy said. "If you say this boy is kind, we'll do our best to keep him involved in the Gryffindor student body."

"You should have been a Gryffindor," Hermione said with a smile.

Poppy scoffed. "I'm not brave," she said.

Hermione asked about volunteering in St. Mungo's this year and how her summer had been. Neither Minerva nor Poppy had heard from Allie since she had left. Poppy admitted she was concerned for her friend, and over the summer she expected to see Allie at any moment.

"Hermione," Poppy said, "If you don't mind me being blunt. Are you avoiding Minerva and me? I hope you do not feel uncomfortable without Allie there. Minerva misses having someone to fly with. I can't believe there are still no openings on the Gryffindor team."

Hermione sighed. "I admit that I do feel uncomfortable without Allie there, but I am doing something that Allie had asked me to do, and I think it will look more believable if I'm not fraternizing with any Gryffindors. My promise to you on the train last year still holds true. And I promise you it always will."

Hermione decided to use Allie has a scapegoat. How else could she explain her sudden interest in Tom Riddle and disinterest in Poppy and Minerva?

Poppy chuckled. "Oh I do not worry that you will harm us, but now you have me interested. What has Allie asked you to do?"

"I'm afraid I cannot say," Hermione replied. "At least not yet."

"If you need any help," Poppy said, "Minerva and I will stand by you. Things have been rather dull since Allie has left."

"Hopefully Hagrid will help to make things interesting," Hermione said. "And I will ask for help when I need it. I'm lucky to have befriended you two early on, and I'm sorry to disappear like this."

The next two years seemed to shoot by for Hermione. She felt like a student again, just studying and mischief. Her and Lucy Audley were quite inseparable, and on Hermione's darker days she was tempted to tell the poor girl everything that had happened to her. But Hermione held her secret tight to her, sometimes reviewing her memories and the few memories that Allie had put into it before she left. There were no outbursts of magic. Hermione spent an hour every day working off her extra energy. And with some of her darker memories out of her head, by her fourth year she was able to conjure an Expecto Patronum. However, she was surprised to see that her otter had shifted into a weasel.

Tom Riddle and Hermione were growing closer as well. She wanted quite desperately to kill him, but she felt wrong doing it without Allie's permission. She didn't have a reason to kill him, not anything he did in this timeline. Hermione also didn't want to admit that their conversations together began to get interesting. In their fourth year, Hermione had caught Tom with Grindelwald propaganda, papers he had written on why he was fighting this war. They were banned at school, of course. She spent some time debating with him on the value of Muggles and Muggle-born students.

"It is the pureblood families who produce the most number of Squibs, you can look up that statistic," Hermione said, in the common room one night after everyone else had gone to bed. "We need the muggleborn children, and even half-blood children, to keep the wizarding community strong. There is no evidence that Pureblood wizards are stronger than the alternative wizards. You don't even know what line you come from. I don't see where this bias could have come from."

"I have a feeling about where I am from," Tom replied. "And I agree with your breeding principles, but to keep Muggles in the loop seems absurd."

"Do tell me your suspicions, Tom Riddle. It will be for a good laugh," Hermione replied.

"That is reason enough not to tell you," Tom said. "You will think it to be a joke. I will only reveal it to you when I am certain of it."

"Well you should," Hermione said. "I wouldn't be surprised if I'm from entirely Muggle stock. They probably threw me out because I started to make my mobile spin."

"See, they're a superstitious lot," Tom said. "As soon as they see something different, they must destroy it. I don't even agree with Grindelwald. Controlling the Muggles seems like a waste of time. We're the ones who should control them. We obviously have more sense than they do. Have you seen some of the monstrosities they have made with this war? They are only finding more efficient ways of killing themselves. There are no positive developments."

"Medical research," Hermione said. "Through finding more efficient ways of killing themselves, they are finding more efficient ways of healing themselves. It's the mixture of money being in the right place and of the necessity for it that causes these advances."

"Isn't that in itself flawed? Why isn't there funding and necessity before? Half of their population is starving, and they're more focussed on what religious group offends them the most," Tom said.

Circular conversations like these continued for the year. Hermione doubted her influence on Tom. He didn't change his opinion or show any sign of faltering on his opinion. However, Hermione was enjoying the debate. Tom did a lot of research into the things he believed, and he was a formidable debate foe. She felt guilty for the amount of fun she had. Hermione was certain that the next year the chamber would open on schedule, and she would kill the student to save Myrtle and ultimately everyone else. She wasn't surprised at the sense of relief that came with this thought.


	12. While the Sinners Sin, The Children Play

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Twelve: While the Sinners Sin, The Children Play

Hermione received a letter in the summer of her fifth year. Lucy Audley got one two. They were selected to be Slytherin Prefects. Hermione later found out that Rosier and Tom Riddle were their opposites. Lucy didn't loathe Rosier as much as she did the other Slytherin boys, so she suspected that the situation wouldn't be entirely intolerable.

In fact, Hermione enjoyed being a Prefect again. The Slytherin students seemed to think they could get away with things in front of her, so she was proud and happy to prove them wrong. Audley seemed to find another outlet for her temper as she scolded as many students as possible. She was slowly reconstructing her self-esteem too.

Lucy Audley's father (her own too, she supposed) wrote Hermione a lot of letters requesting reports on how his daughter was doing. He wanted to know the name of every student she provoked and if any student gave her a dirty look. Hermione wrote back a lot of letters, but was careful to leave out information that would get Lucy or herself into trouble.

Hermione knew Tom was skulking around, and she kept her eye on him. (She was quite certain he kept his eye on her also.) She didn't know if he ever discovered the Room of Requirement, but she was certain if he did find it, he wouldn't find her version of the room. If he needed a room, he'd need a room to hide something in, she was almost positive. She cornered Tom in a hallway outside the girl's restroom after Christmas to question him of his movements.

"So I've noticed you lingering outside the girl's bathroom lately," Hermione said. "Are you stalking some poor girl?"

"Why, are you jealous?" Tom asked with an elegant smile.

Hermione laughed. "So you're doing something else then," Hermione said. "What are you up to? It's not like you to leave me out of the loop."

"Oh, you'll find out," Tom replied, confidently.

"Am I going to find out as a prefect or am I going to find out as a friend?" Hermione asked.

Tom just smiled. Hermione looked into those stoney eyes, trying to read him. She was secretly hoping that he'd show her the snake before he started attacking people, but he showed no signs of it. So Hermione followed him distantly, a few times casting a weak, temporary invisibility spell to follow him, but only when she knew Dumbledore wasn't around to spot her.

And then the first paralyzed student appeared. Professor Beery began making restorative draughts from mandrake roots, but Hermione took a more forward action. She slid a charm into Tom's pocket so that she'd be able to trace his movements. She wished she had the Marauder's Map, but it wouldn't be invented for another couple of decades. She wasn't sure she had enough knowledge of Hogwarts to make one herself, but she decided she would add it to the list of things to consider.

So when Tom moved out of the Slytherin dorms, Hermione snuck out to follow him. She hadn't changed out of her uniform yet, since the girls had been staying up chatting about the boys and their interest in them. Audley was a little more hesitant to talk about it, but they eventually pried out a few names. She seemed a little fond of Rosier, although she didn't like that he was friends with Tom. Either way, it wasn't a conversation that Hermione was disappointed to leave behind.

Hermione could see Tom ahead of her in the hallway. She knew if she was going to follow him down into the chamber, she'd need his parselmouth to get in. She could wait for him to come out, but she'd risk seeing the basilisk first. She had a pocket mirror in her schoolbag in case she thought she'd see the snake first. She wasn't sure if Tom would kill her or not, but it wasn't a risk she was going to take.

Hermione followed him right into the girl's bathroom, and he noticed her when she entered. He seemed a little surprised to see her there. "I know our bathrooms are cleaner," Hermione said. "Is that why you're in here?"

"I could ask you the same question," Tom said.

"You want to ask me what I'm doing in the girl's washroom?" Hermione asked. "You do remember that I'm a girl?"

"It's the middle of the night," Tom said. "Isn't this bathroom a little out of the way for you?"

"It is," Hermione replied. "But I'm not here to use the washroom. I'm here to find out what you're up to, and what it has to do with the girl's washroom."

Tom sighed. "I don't know if I can trust you or not," he said. "We do have very differing opinions on this particular issue."

"Try me," Hermione said.

"I found out my heritage," Tom said. "I'm the last of the Slytherin bloodline, and I've figured out how to open Salazar's Chamber of Secrets."

"So what's the secret?" Hermione asked.

"Let me show you," Tom said.

Hermione felt uneasy as Tom smiled. She suspected that if she disagreed with him, he'd kill her. They'd never find her body in the chamber beneath Hogwarts.

Tom murmured the parseltongue to open the door. Hermione followed him down into the dank cellar. She kept her eyes to the ground, in case the giant snake was free to roam around. Hermione heard more parseltongue from Tom.

"I've told it to avoid your eyes," Tom said. "So don't worry about staring at the ground. It's not going to look at you."

"I'd rather not take my chances," Hermione said.

"How did you figure it out?" Tom said. "I knew as soon as you stared at the ground that you knew what I had here."

The ground shook as the snake approached them. Hermione kept her eyes on the ground. She could feel the sweat on her neck crawling down it. "A student – a muggle born shows up paralyzed with a pocket mirror. Do you think I'm stupid? I've read every book on Hogwarts there is," Hermione replied.

She felt Tom's fingers wrap around her bare arm. "I'll send it away if you'll discuss this rationally," Tom said. "I want you to look at me."

"I'll discuss it rationally if you send it away," she said.

Tom said a few words and she heard the ground shake and the snake wandered off. She wondered if he sent it to kill while Hermione was busy. "Are you sending it to hunt?" Hermione asked.

"No," Tom said.

Hermione nodded, and she looked up at Tom, and only Tom, when she thought it was safe. Before Tom could justify his actions, Hermione spoke, "I did some research over the summer. I'm a muggle-born. If you start killing these students, you damn well better start with me."

"It doesn't make sense," Tom replied. "You wouldn't have been sorted into Slytherin if you were muggle-born."

"I don't think the Sorting Hat has the same prejudices that Salazar had," Hermione said.

"It still doesn't make sense," Tom said. "You have so much power, and yet you suppress so much of it. Why are you suppressing it?"

"So I don't kill anyone," Hermione said.

"You disappear down a hallway once a day," Tom said. "Where do you go?"

"I'm not telling you anything else unless you stop this madness."

Tom hesitated. Hermione suspected he was judging whether or not he could get away with killing people without Hermione knowing. It was also possible that he was trying to decide whether or not to kill Hermione.

"Why do you care about muggles so much?" Tom finally asked. "They're worthless, weak, self-destructive monsters. They're more ape than human."

"Why do you hate them so much?" Hermione asked in reply. "Aside from the fact they're self-destructive individuals."

"Like I said, I did some research on my family. Turns out my father broke my mother's heart, left her with child, pregnant with me, because she was a witch. Don't forget that your own parents abandoned you. They're not to be trusted."

"It's flawed to judge an entire race based on two separate incidents," Hermione said.

"You're not looking at the whole picture," Tom said.

"You're not looking at the whole picture," Hermione said. "You're taking pieces of Grindelwald's propaganda and pieces of your own prejudices to justify some ridiculous-"

That's when Tom wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and kissed her. She didn't know if it was to shut her up, or if he actually cared for her. She tried to pull away, but he put a hand on the back of her head to keep their embrace tight. His tongue began exploring her mouth.

As the boy's fingers began tracing Hermione's thigh (she regretted wearing a skirt), she tried to decide what to do. She thought of Ron, and she debated imagining this was him, but Tom's kisses were too... hungry. Ron was sloppy and wet, but when Tom kissed her it was like he was trying to pull something out of her. And the way he ran his fingers along Hermione's thigh was too calculated. Ron would have spent his time groping her breast. She wanted to make a list of all the differences between Tom and Ron, but it would only depress her. The only boy who was interested in her now would destroy everything and everyone.

So she thought of Snape, not romantically, but of his love for Lily. That's how she was trying to play Tom. She didn't know how far he and Lily's relationship had extended, if he had ever traced runes on Lily's thighs, but she wasn't sure Tom felt the same way for her. She wasn't sure Tom Riddle would ever feel that way about anyone.

She felt the energy from the unreleased magic begin to consume her again, but this time that rational Hermione stayed. She had control of all this energy caressing her skin. She knew Tom could feel it, he lusted for it more than for her.

That's when Hermione Granger decided something.

Hermione pulled out her wand tucked away into her sleeve. Tom didn't withdraw the tongue from her mouth. He didn't withdraw the finger on her thigh. Hermione didn't even need to whisper Incarcerous, Tom Riddle fell to the ground, writhing. "You flithly mudblood bitch," he snarled. "Your eyes are brown. What is it that possesses you?"

She clearly should have bound his mouth, but that would come later. She replied quite smoothly, "This is why we couldn't work, Tom. You hate something which I think defines me," she replied. "Neither of us would be able to work around that."

Not to mention the fact that he would kill the love of her life, her best friend in the world, her parents, her friends, and countless other people who didn't deserve an inch of what they had faced moments before their own death.

Tom Riddle hissed a reply, and Hermione rolled her eyes momentarily, and then realized what he was doing. She flicked her wand to cast Langlock on Tom, quickly blessed Snape in her head, and then turned around and kept her eyes to the ground. What could have been thunder rolled through the cave, but she knew it was possibly her demise.

She took this moment of waiting to curse herself. Harry, Ron, and she had been a team for as long as she could remember. She researched everything, she solved their problems. Ron was the tactics man. He knew what piece to move next and where. Harry was, well, Harry. He was their courage. He was their friend. He was their best friend. It was true, she was lost without them. She didn't know what piece to move next. She only knew to keep moving, and she was tired of waiting for Allie's return, if she was going to return at all.

Hermione Granger would never get her old life back. She'd be too old to be with Ron when she saw him again. She'd be too old to have her old friends when she saw them again. She'd be too old to be happy. She was doing everything for the Hermione Granger in this timeline, and for the good of humanity, but nothing would help Hermione Abercorn. She decided to forget Allie's suggestion. There was no point in trying to change the monster before her. She would rot in Azkaban so her younger self in this time would live like she should have in her own.

A hiss, followed by a stench in the wind, allowed Hermione to know the Basilisk was close, possibly too close, but close nonetheless. Thanking Snape again, Hermione waved her wand to use Sectumsempra. She hoped one of the slices would gouge out one of its eyes. She continued casting it, listening to its movement and trying to dodge it from coming near.

That's when she heard it roar. Blood splattered the ground in front of her. One eye down. She saw the base of the snake, and she noticed it was the left eye that she had damaged. So she flashed her arm to the right side, praying she would luck out again. She could see the lower half of the basilisk now, hissing and approaching her. She noticed the base lift and she barely dodged it diving for her. She turned her back to avoid seeing it face-to-face in its eyes.

It lifted its head to attack again.

She could feel its cool breath on her back.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione stepped into the mouth of the snake. She thought of Ron. A weasel could defeat the basilisk. She wasn't sure her patronus would do the trick. She sliced off its tongue quickly, and it hissed, covering Hermione's robes in its thick, warm blood. It kept its mouth open, writhing and hissing in pain. Hermione was positive even if it closed its mouth, she'd still have space to slice open its head, but what spell to use?

That's when she heard it, the lovely song. Fawkes. "Merlin," Hermione said. "I don't believe it."

And as if Hermione was her best friend years in the future, Fawkes flew into the basilisk's jaw and dropped the hat there. The phoenix did not stay. Hermione pulled out the sword of Godric Gryffindor and tossed the hat out of the mouth, hoping not to get it filthier. She used all of her energy to levitate herself near enough to the top of the basilisk's now closing mouth to stab it.

Blood sprayed across her face as the sword pierced the weak flesh inside its mouth. She was careful around its teeth and she began cutting the snake open. She only had to cut half way down the basilisk's throat before it stopped writhing.

When she finally got herself out of the corpse of the snake, Tom Riddle was gone. Hermione was furious. "Damn," she cursed.

She dropped the sword on the ground, perhaps assuming that Fawkes would clean up, took off her robe as it was heavy with blood, and chased up the washroom after Tom Riddle. She was going to gut him like she gutted that bloody snake. She was going to do it if she had to do it in front of the entire school.

He wasn't in the girl's washroom, but she caught up with him in the hallway. He was shouting and banging on doors. She could hear movement all around her. She felt light-headed and weak. "You're looking a little pale Hermione," Tom shouted at her with a smile.

"I may have used up all that energy butchering your pet," she replied, "But I have just enough left to do the same with you."

Students began pouring out from every corner. She spotted staff too. She saw Hagrid standing with Minerva. She saw Poppy standing with other dozy Ravenclaws. Hermione just laughed. Like an audience would stop her. She could be dead the second after she cast the spell, but every second would be worth it. She wouldn't even have to raise her wand.

There were whispers all around her. She could just imagine what she looked like, drenched in all this blood. Most of it had seeped through her robe and onto her uniform.

"Everyone," Tom Riddle announced. "Hermione and I have killed a monster."

"I am going to kill a monster," Hermione snarled and raised her wand.

And there was suddenly a great weight on her shoulder. It was a weight greater than the thought of all of her friends being dead. Professor Dumbledore's hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up into those blue eyes and saw a twinkle. Hermione thought for a moment that Allie would be graduating this year, if she were still in school.

"Perhaps this is something we should talk about," Professor Dumbledore said, calmly.

With his calm, calculated tone, Tom Riddle already weaved the tale of how Hermione stayed behind to sacrifice herself while he went to get help, but when Hermione was swallowed by the snake, Tom hit its eye, giving Hermione the upper hand inside the snake.

"Mr. Riddle," Professor Dumbledore said, "Please close your mouth for a moment and come with Miss. Abercorn and myself. It is time we spoke to Headmaster Dippet."


	13. I was Fighting but I Just Feel too Tired

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Thirteen: I was fighting, but I just feel too tired

Hermione cast scourgify to clean her clothes on the way to see Armando Dippet. She was tempted to destroy Tom in front of Dumbledore, but the weight of Dumbledore's hand on her shoulder was heavier than it should have been, reminding her of how weak she felt. She had a feeling, too, that Dumbledore was on her side. She watched Tom's face, which stayed expressionless.

Hermione didn't feel entirely comfortable in the Headmaster's office. The portraits all leered down at her, and her cleansing charm certainly didn't take out blood as well as she had hoped. She was, however, comforted by the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black who had ultimately delivered messages between them and Snape. He frowned at the extra attention her eyes were giving him.

"Headmaster," Dumbledore said. "I have just been informed that Miss. Abercorn and Mr. Riddle have destroyed the basilisk of Salazar Slytherin."

"Well Mr. Riddle managed to keep his nose clean," Headmaster Dippet said cheerfully. "Miss. Abercorn, why are you covered in blood?"

Tom spoke, Hermione was positive his enthusiasm was faked, "Headmaster, she gutted the snake. She pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the Sorting Hat. Perhaps she is better suited for the Gryffindor house now."

Hermione realized that Tom was trying to get rid of her, trying to get away from her. Hermione gripped her wand, and Albus kept a firm hand on her shoulder. Albus knew something was up, and she suspected he was going to pull it out of her before night's end. She would be too tired to hide everything, especially if she had the opportunity to destroy Tom Riddle.

Dippet congratulated them both, and Tom brilliantly filled in the blanks as to what they were doing in the girl's loo. (He had followed her in for romantic interests, although she turned him down.) Hermione stayed silent. Albus' bony fingers on her shoulder reminded her of her weakness, of Allie's suggestion to try to change him, and Hermione wondered if she should see try, even though she had an estimated thirty-foot of dead snake proving that he couldn't change.

After the pleasantries, report filing, and cleaning crew organized itself, Professor Dumbledore asked to speak with Miss. Abercorn privately. Tom didn't ask why he couldn't follow, although his eyes, for once, revealed that he wanted to know where she was going. He didn't seem to want to be with her or apart from her. She didn't want to be apart from him so that the opportunity would arise so she could finish him, and she decided that she could and would as soon as Dumbledore left her alone.

Albus Dumbledore closed the door to his office and motioned for Hermione to take a seat, which she did, gratefully. He offered her a lemon sherbet which she accepted and chewed absent-mindedly.

Hermione was surprised at how distant and tired her voice was when she asked, "Have you heard from Allie or Professor Narayan?"

"No," Dumbledore replied.

"Me neither," Hermione sighed. She wondered if she did have a touch of snake venom in her. It would explain why she was so tired. "Have you tried contacting them?"

"What makes you think they're together, Miss. Abercorn?" Dumbledore asked.

Hermione shook her head. "I worry about them," she said. "What if they were captured in order to gain information on you?"

"Sometimes I feel like you have seen more than any of us know," Dumbledore replied. "What were you doing in the Chamber of Secrets with Tom Riddle?"

"I was going to kill him and his snake," Hermione said, dreamily. "One down..."

"It was his snake?" Dumbledore asked. "Do you mean Tom Riddle is the heir of Slytherin?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes sir," she said. "We had been arguing about muggle borns and he hinted that he was keeping something from me. So naturally I tried to find out. Is that information enough to put him away for good?"

"I'm afraid we're going to be unable to put him away at all," Dumbledore replied. "It is unlikely Tom Riddle will admit to being the Slytherin heir if it will condemn him, and he likely covered the path which reveals him. Mr. Riddle is not one who feels the need to brag. He is more calculated than that."

"I am sorry to have given away my intentions then," Hermione replied. "I suspect you will keep me from achieving my goal?"

"Miss. Abercorn, why are you so desperate to kill this boy?" Dumbledore asked. "Have you been since day one?"

"I don't know anymore, Professor Dumbledore. I've tried to change him, but I don't think he will," she replied. "Do you know why I am so tired? I can't seem to get the energy to keep my eyelids open."

"It sounds like you used up a lot of your excess energy killing the basilisk. I'll send you to the hospital wing as soon as we're done here. The nurse will give you some potions that will slowly bring you back to health and restore you energy," Dumbledore replied. "I am afraid you may have to postpone writing your OWLs."

Hermione cursed. She had forgotten about her OWLs. Not like it mattered. "I should be fine to write them with the rest of the students," Hermione replied. "I don't care what mark I receive and I don't want to have to put them off."

"You surely understand how hard it is to believe that a student like you doesn't care about her marks," Dumbledore replied. "When the examinations come up, you'll be free to postpone them if you do not feel up to standard health."

"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"No," Dumbledore replied, sharply. "As long as I am here, you will not lay another hand on Tom Riddle."

"But-"

"You must realize that this is your word against his," Dumbledore replied, "and I've been given no reason to trust you over Tom Riddle. You are both top students, and I am concerned about both of your attitudes to your peers. Not to mention you and Miss. Ejiofor eavesdropping outside of my office, and now this. Mr. Riddle's story could easily be the truth and you are using this opportunity to incriminate him. I also will not accept any excuse of you using accidental magic to harm him in any way. You have shown yourself to be capable of controlling your somewhat excessive magical energy, and I believe you capable of controlling every inch of it."

"Yes, sir," Hermione replied. "Is that all?"

"No," Dumbledore replied. "Do you have any thoughts as to why Fawkes would bring you the Sorting Hat and how you were able to retrieve a Gryffindor relic out of it?"

"Perhaps it doesn't matter what house you're in. Perhaps what does matter is what qualities you possess and use. I do not intend for this to sound like I am tooting my own horn, but it took a lot of courage to step into that snake's mouth. Perhaps I didn't have a lot to lose by doing it, but I certainly didn't have anything to gain aside from saving a muggle born and a friend's reputation. Perhaps Fawkes doesn't doubt my character like you do, sir," Hermione explained.

Dumbledore's blue eyes, cloudy and tired, bore into Hermione. She knew he wasn't using any legilimency on her. Perhaps he was trying to read her face or contemplating his next move. His lips barely moved when he spoke next: "I suspect that you do not mean you were trying to save Tom Riddle's reputation. Whose reputation were you trying to save?" he asked.

"I worried that Tom would try to place the blame on another animal lover," Hermione said in the most matter-of-fact tone, as if Dumbledore should have known what she was talking about. "Is that all, sir?"

"Yes, but go straight to the Hospital Wing, Miss. Abercorn," he said. "If you make any detours to the Slytherin common room, Professor Slughorn will be sure to escort you to the hospital wing without giving you the chance to see any of your friends, and you should hope that I don't hear about it."

And with Dumbledore's last words hanging in the air, Hermione stormed out of the office.


	14. It's All Over, So Let's Do it Again

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Fifteen: It's All Over, So Let's Do it Again

Once she was out of the range of Dumbledore's office, Hermione had to hold onto the walls to keep herself steady. Her head pounded with rage, and she struggled to keep her eyes focussed and open. She clearly should have waited for Dumbledore to escort her, but her stubbornness overcame her.

When she reached the hospital wing, Poppy and the nurse were waiting for her. Hermione was surprised at how she relaxed when she saw Poppy was there waiting for her. Everyone hadn't abandoned her. They led Hermione into a bed, and then nurse gave Hermione a potion to drink. As soon as Hermione's head hit the hospital wing pillow, she was out.

A man was screaming in her dream. He was yelling, furious about something. It took her moments to realize it was Harry while he sliced up Death Eaters. Hermione found herself hovering over Ginny's body. Every time Hermione sewed up one of the wounds on Ginny's chest, blood poured out a new wound. It must have been a new curse. Hermione hadn't seen this before. She wondered if it was one of Snape's and she made a mental note to ask him the next time she saw him so she could get the counter curse or make one herself. It was brutal, trying to come up with one of the spot, but she didn't feel the strength to curse Snape, not even just in her head.

Ginny held Hermione's free hand tightly. She kept telling Hermione to go to Harry, but her hand tightly locked Hermione there. Hermione only had to hit a few Death Eaters to keep them away from Ginny and her. Harry was doing a good job holding them all off with his rage. Ginny kept telling Hermione to kill them all for her. Ginny kept telling Hermione to kill them all for Ron. As her eyes began to glaze over, Ginny demanded Hermione promised to take care of Ron. Hermione kept tears out of her eyes as she made the promise, positive that Ginny had really meant Harry. Ginny tried to say something else, but blood started to pour out of her mouth, and she was no longer capable of speaking.

Harry was furious that Ginny had been hit, and he screamed at Hermione for letting her die. Her stubborn best friend wouldn't, couldn't realize that Hermione had done everything in her power to save her. Hermione couldn't cry for Ginny. Harry was letting himself fall apart, and Hermione needed to keep herself together to calm him down.

Hermione woke up quickly. She felt as if she hadn't slept at all, her body was still exhausted. Hermione cursed herself. She was positive she had taken out that memory, but still it lingered clearly in her mind. Maybe Hermione was losing her mind, too. Hermione wondered for a moment if she had died instead of going back in time. Maybe this was her own personal hell, forever trying to kill Tom Riddle.

That's when Hermione realized someone was talking to her. It was Lucy. Lucy, Minerva, Poppy, and, to Hermione's surprise, Rubeus Hagrid lingered around her bedside.

Hermione smiled, regretting how weak it was. "I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't hear you."

Lucy Audley spoke first, "My dad sent you a howler. I thought for sure it would wake you up. How he managed to make a howler is beyond me." Luc y didn't hide her anger when she asked, "Have you been sending him reports on what I do around Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Hermione replied.

"I can't believe this," Lucy said. "I thought you were my friend – my sister!"

"Your dad asked me to," Hermione replied. "I didn't tell him everything-"

"Please," Poppy said. "Hermione needs rest. I'm sure she has a reason for-"

Lucy Audley scoffed and left in a huff. Minerva said, "And this is why you shouldn't have ditched us for Slytherin friends. You try to help and they condemn you for it."

Hermione just laughed. "It wouldn't be the first mistake I've made," Hermione said.

"Are you still feeling weak?" Poppy asked. "You look terrible."

"I feel terrible," Hermione admitted. "But you have to introduce me to your friend."

Hagrid had been sheepishly avoiding their eye contact, clearly feeling uncomfortable just being there. "Well you know Hagrid," Minerva said, "Even if you haven't been properly introduced. I insisted on his coming along because Tom has been bullying him and Poppy says Allie has given you an assignment."

And suddenly Hermione felt like she was back with Harry and Ron. Her friends were here to help her save the day. She didn't need a Professor's permission to save the world. She didn't know why she thought she did.

"What has Tom been bullying you about, Hagrid?" Hermione asked.

Hagrid hunched up his shoulders in an attempt to make himself look smaller. "I 'ave..." Hagrid hesitated, shifting his eyes between Minerva and Poppy. "A bit o' a pet. An' Tom tried ter take 'im away."

"Is it safe to have at the school?" Hermione asked. "Maybe there is somewhere else you can keep him where he won't get taken away."

"The point isn't the spider, Hermione," Minerva said. "The point is that Tom was planning to blame his pet snake on Hagrid's harmless pet spider."

"I'd hardly call Hagrid's spider harmless," Poppy replied.

"He wouldn' hurt a fly," Hagrid replied. "An' I would have liked ter have seen the snake."

"Regardless," Minerva said. "The point is we're all on your 'I hate Tom Riddle' bandwagon. So tell us what Allie is having you do. Was it just that business with the snake?"

"So you don't believe Tom's story about the Basilisk?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not," Minerva said.

Hermione exhaled, and she tried to decide what to say. Poppy said, "Perhaps we should leave it for another time. Hermione looks pretty exhausted."

"Can we leave it for another time?" Hermione asked.

"Fine," Minerva said. "I mean, we were just ready to do anything you needed, but now you're too tired to even tell us what this is about."

"No," Hermione said. "I just want to make sure I tell the whole thing properly."

"Do you know my favourite Quidditch team?" Minerva asked.

"Minerva, please," Poppy said.

"No, Poppy," Minerva said. "Do you know anything about us? Or is this just a one-way friendship?"

"I admit it," Hermione replied. "Fine. I hardly know anything about you guys. Poppy is killer at medicine and has a guilty pleasure for passionate romance novels. Minerva, you like showing people how to do things. You think it's because it makes you feel superior, but the truth is that you feel good knowing you've helped someone with something. Minerva, I could barely stay on a broom before you-"

"Come on, you didn't have the opportunity-"

"I know it's hard to believe, but I've been trying to fly for a while and I've never really liked it before," Hermione replied, "Except when you were there to make sure I was all right."

Minerva puffed up. "Well I'm glad to have helped," she said.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Poppy said. "Aside from the howler, here's the other thing that came in the mail."

It was a package. Why would she get a package? Intrigued, Hermione opened it in front of her companions. She had hoped that Hagrid would have blossomed a bit more, but she thought that perhaps Dumbledore's confidence in him perhaps was the confidence boost that made the half-giant come out of his shell.

Inside the package was a bottle. She moved the potion between her fingers, and her three friends came closer to look at it. "I don't think I've ever seen that potion before," McGonagall said.

"It's nothing I've ever seen," Pomfrey added.

Hagrid's beady beetle eyes inspected it closely. "Looks like a mem'ry," he added.

"Why do you think that?" Hermione asked.

"I can see th' pictures in th' liquid," Hagrid replied.

"I'm going to ask a favour of you two," Hermione said, "Then I'll let you see this memory with me."

Hermione requested that while Hagrid stayed with her (he'd be too conspicuous when sneaking around), Poppy and Minerva try to find the Room of Requirement. She gave them the directions to find the room, and told them to think about how much they wanted to find Hermione's and Allie's room. Then they were to find the trunk and bring it back to Hermione.

Hermione asked Hagrid how his first few years had been at Hogwarts. She did her best to keep the conversation rolling, but in the beginning the conversation was like pulling teeth. Of course, once Hermione found the appropriate conversations, such as the magical creatures he had nursed and encountered before, he was fine talking. Hermione found her energy slowly coming back to her. The dream had made her tense and tired, but listening to Hagrid was relaxing. It was as if she was back in his hut hearing about his latest magical creature exploit. The memory of Hagrid's death was gone. If Hermione revisited her memories, she'd know he died defending Hogwarts with his brother. At the time Hermione was too worked up about Ron's death to discover Hagrid's death. It wasn't until later that she heard about the deaths of many of the staff.

Eventually, Minerva and Poppy returned with the trunk. Hermione opened the compartment with the pensieve and Hermione and Allie's memories. "I'm going to review it first," Hermione said, "And then you're welcome to it."

Before Hermione dipped into the pensieve, she noticed Poppy picking up one of the memories and looking at it closely.

The next thing Hermione knew was that she was in some sort of jail cell. She watched Allie tied to a chair alone. She said aloud to no one in particular, "Give Albus memory 48. Don't worry, we're fine."

Hermione couldn't help but notice a few of Allie's fingers were missing, but she was quite certain she could see Fawkes in the corner of the memory. That's how she sent out the letter.

Hermione was out of the memory almost instantly. How could she tell the others they shouldn't see the memory? Hermione thought maybe it would be something about them fighting in the war. She didn't imagine that they were being tortured, and Professor Narayan wasn't even in the image. Was he still alive? She highly doubted they were fine like Allie claimed.

"Let me show you a different one," Hermione said, looking through the other memories.

"What?" Minerva asked. "Why?"

"I don't think you should see this one," Hermione replied.

She wasn't sure that they should see any of them, but it was too late, Minerva was in. Poppy berated Hermione with questions as Minvera was under. Hermione was flipping through the bottles. Allie had numbered all of hers, as did Hermione. They archived what memory covered which one, but Hermione carried the list in her bag instead of with the trunk. As soon as she was out, she said, "What does that even mean? Where was she? What happened?"

"I have to give Professor Dumbledore one of the memories," Hermione said.

"What one is it?" Minerva asked.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I don't have the list with me."

"Yeh should take a look," Hagrid said.

Hermione considered it. "Well, it would be rude, wouldn't it?" she asked. "It's not my memory."

"Merlin," Minerva said, "Just take a look."

Hermione hesitated. "No I better take this up to Albus now," Hermione said, biting her bottom lip. "I'll look up what it was later. I don't know if I have any time to lose."

"You should stay in bed," Poppy said.

"I'll just be a few minutes," Hermione replied. "I'll be fine."

But her friends insisted and sure enough Hermione had an escort to Dumbledore's office. Hagrid often had to place a steady hand on her shoulder to keep her steady, but she found it lighter than the hand Dumbledore had put on her shoulder the day before. Dumbledore's hand felt like it was pulling her back, whereas Hagrid's hand helped her move forward. Hermione knocked on his door and he told her to enter. Without explaining herself, Hermione just said, "You need to see this."

She held out Allie's memory, number 48, for Albus to have. He didn't ask anything and seemed to recognize the contents. Dumbledore pulled out his pensieve to observe the memory. He entered and Hermione waited for his return.

Soon enough Albus was out of the memory. The sparkle was gone from his eyes, concern hanging in his wrinkles. "Where did you get this?" he asked.

"In the mail," Hermione said.

"Get back to the hospital wing and recover, Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore said.

Hermione left without the memory, but her crew made a quick stop-over at the Slytherin dorms so she could get her bag. Luckily, classes were generally in session (Poppy had permission to skip, and Minerva and Hagrid simply had no interest in going), so the common room was empty. Grabbing her bag was easy, and soon enough she was back in the hospital wing with her friends.

Hermione consulted her notebook. Memory 48 was Albus' last memory of Saqi Narayan, of him sitting in St. Mungo's, slowly losing his mind. Hermione reviewed the memory after Allie had gone off with Saqi.

She remembered standing beside Albus in the Janus Thickey ward, before Gilderoy Lockhart and Neville's parents lingered in the room, and before the entire hospital was blown apart by Death Eaters. The colour in Professor Saqi Narayan's face was drained completely, his face hollowed out. His hair was now a weak grey, cut short, and his friendly goatee was shaven off. His hands were only palms, but his teeth had grown back, a stark white. He sat in a wheelchair, and his sunken eyes lolled in their sockets. They didn't look at Albus, more in the direction of the invisible Hermione.

"There will always be a place for you at Hogwarts, Saqi," Albus said.

"Look at me Albus," Professor Narayan's voice was hoarse, as if he had been screaming for decades straight. "What could I do at Hogwarts?"

"I could find something," Albus replied, clearly frustrated. "I'm headmaster now and I'll invent a damn job for you if I have to."

"I- I'm much better here Albus. I have my things in one room and one of the nurses helped me hook up a muggle television set. You wouldn't believe what they put on-"

"I am not having my best friend rot in a hospital," Albus said. "I can get a television working at Hogwarts, I'm sure of it. It can be part of your Muggle Studies."

"My place is here," Saqi said.

Albus exhaled, defeated. "Please remember what I said," Albus replied. "If you change your mind, there is always a place for you here."

Saqi offered a weak smile. "I truly do love you, Albus," he said.

"It was a mistake letting you go off like that," Albus replied.

"I didn't tell them anything, you know."

"I know," Albus replied.

"Nothing at all," Saqi said.

"I know, Saqi," Albus replied.

And that was when the memory faded for Hermione. She wasn't even sure the Albus from this timeline watched the whole thing, perhaps he just saw enough. Hermione hoped he was running out of the school after them at this moment. "So what was the memory of?" Minerva asked.

Hermione took a deep breath. This was it.

"It's a memory of Professor Saqi in the hospital," Hermione said.

"I don't recall Professor Saqi ever being in the hospital," Poppy replied. "Whose memory is it?"

"Dumbledore's," Hermione said.

It was quiet. Hagrid broke the silence, "How did yeh get Dumbledore's mem'ry?"

So Hermione told them everything. Starting at the beginning. Her beginning, coming from a Muggle background, meeting Harry Potter. There was so much explanation. The three of them spent the entire day listening to Hermione's story. The nurse came by trying to shoo them out several times, but Poppy reassured the nurse that Hermione was fine. It was reassuring, the fact that they didn't just leave. She skipped over parts, and every once and a while one of them would ask a question, something Hermione hadn't mentioned in great detail or any in detail at all.

When she was finished, there was silence for a few moments. Hermione had mentioned all of their futures, both their futures at Hogwarts, but also the end of their futures (but without the details that gruesome details that haunted her memory, such as in Minerva's case).

Hagrid spoke first. "I'd love ter be Groundskeeper," Hagrid remarked. "Do yeh think I can get that job and still be a Professor?"

Minerva patted Hagid's leg, "Of course. We'll make sure of it."

There was silence again. Did they think she was mad? At least they could blame it from stress, she was in the hospital wing. Minerva stood up and straightened her robes. "Well, it's best that we get to our rooms for bed," she said. "I assure you we will be discussing what you've told us."

Hermione exhaled. "Can you at least tell me if you believe me?" she asked.

"O' course I believe yeh," Hagrid said. "Why else would yeh 'ave told Minvera t' befriend me?"

"Hagrid's right," Poppy replied. "Too many things make sense for you to be lying."

Minerva said nothing, but Hermione smiled as her friends stood up around her. She felt as if she was standing up with them, and a new energy surged within her. It wasn't an energy like the magical excess that had followed her around for years, it was like the energy she had when she, Ron, and Harry had to work on something for one of their escapades. She wasn't doing this alone anymore.

"Thank you," Hermione said, "For listening."


	15. Ég fel hausinn undir sæng

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Fifteen: Ég fel hausinn undir sæng

Both Mr. Audley and Lucy forgave Hermione, and while they didn't apologize for their temper, Hermione generally wrote off their anger as concern for her. She knew a degree of their anger was for endangering themselves, but she liked the idea that they were generally worried about her too. Nonetheless, she shrugged it off and didn't worry about holding a grudge. The relief that came from telling her companions the truth overcame most of her frustrations.

Dumbledore left the day he saw Allie's memory, but Hermione didn't take advantage of this time to kill Tom. Her companions were busy plotting something, how to track his movements, and prepare for Lord Voldemort without killing him before he turned into a monster. Tom made sure he was never alone with Hermione, and Rosier was usually glued to his side.

The Professors were stretched pretty thin filling in the different positions. Professor Galatea Merrythought, who taught Defence Against the Dark Arts, had been Head of Ravenclaw after Professor Narayan left. Professor Fronsac was most displeased at the post, but they kept assuring Fronsac that it was temporary and Narayan would be back. Professor Silvanus Kettleburn, who taught Care of Magical Creatures, took over Head of Gryffindor. Hagrid was pleased to be able to talk to someone with a background in Magical Creatures. The students generally decided Kettleburn was best qualified because he had the courage to take care of the Magical Creatures. Minerva believed that it was simply Headmaster Dippet's desperation.

The rest of the year sped by for Hermione. She, Minerva, Poppy, and Hagrid frequently went into the Room of Requirement to plot and train. Hermione taught them new spells and reinforced some of the old ones. Flying lessons started again for Hermione as Minerva didn't make the Quidditch team because the Captain wanted her to continue being announcer. She didn't tell her friends this straight out, rather she announced it during every quidditch game. When Gryffindor lost, Minerva explained all the faults of the Captain, and explained how she would have helped them one. It brought Minerva a lot of unwanted popularity from the other houses.

Lucy Audley was quick to cling back to Hermione, especially with their OWLs at the end of the year. Audley and the other Slytherin girls studied with Hermione in an attempt to keep their marks up. The OWLs went well for Hermione, and Audley was quite confident with her results. So when good grades came back during the summer, Mr. Audley was extremely pleased. Hermione was getting more uncomfortable with her living arrangements. The stress from being totally responsible for Lucy was getting to her. She wanted to protect her, but to protect Lucy she had to get in danger herself from time to time, particularly this year, the year she killed Tom Riddle.

She exchanged letters with McGonagall, Pomfrey, and Hagrid all summer. It was nice, having Lucy to read with the evening, and receiving letters from her companions. They agreed that when Professor Dumbledore was back, they were going to have to be careful. They decided that they were, of course, all in this together. When they killed Tom Riddle, they would hide the body and pretend nothing happened. They discussed putting him in one of the compartments of Hermione's trunk, then hiding the trunk in the Room of Requirement, in the version of the Room that has all the things. Everyone would suspect Hermione, but they would be unable to pin it on her because she would have McGonagall, Pomfrey, and Hagrid for an alibi, even if they were present when she destroyed him.

So Hermione was excited to get back to school, which was routine for her. Albus Dumbledore had not yet returned. After the Sorting Hat ceremony, Tom hooked his arm into the crook of her arm, like they were girls prepared to gossip. "Walk with me," he said.

Hermione noticed a new confidence in Tom's step. She didn't want to call it arrogance, but he certainly stood out more than he had in the previous years. He seemed to stand on his own, no longer lingering on the sidelines. One thing of particular interest to Hermione was a schoolbag tossed over his shoulder. She hadn't seen him have one before, and she suspected his functions in a similar manner to hers.

"We're supposed to help the first years," Hermione said, attempting to twist her arm out of his.

"Yes, but I need to speak with you alone," Tom said. "Does this surprise you?"

"Yes," she replied. Hermione noticed Yaxley and Abbot watching her carefully, so she put her lips close to Tom's ear and said in a whisper, "Because I'm going to gut you as soon as we're alone."

Tom smiled as if she was merely flirting as he ran his fingers up her arms. The chills Hermione felt had nothing to do with attraction. He was playing with her and that bothered her. "Follow me," he said.

Hermione tensed as Tom lingered outside where the door to the Room of Requirement stayed hidden. He could feel how uncomfortable she was through the link in their arm. "Why are you tensing up, Hermione?" Tom asked. "Is there something here I shouldn't see?"

"No," Hermione said, finally getting her arm away from his. "What do you want?"

Tom leaned against the wall. "Perhaps we should go for a walk, maybe three times around this area?" Tom said. "I'm sure I'll think of something I want."

Hermione folded her arms against her chest, feeling her wand in her sleeve. "I'm not sure what you are implying," she replied.

"Didn't you hear, Hermione?" Tom asked. "I was allowed to stay at Hogwarts this summer, for being such an outstanding student and defeating a Basilisk. Not everyone will settle for muggle families."

Hermione only snorted in response.

"Could you imagine if that heathen hadn't plucked you out of the orphanage? We would have spent summers at Hogwarts together, practically alone," Tom said, breathing in her scent, hoping for a taste of that power. "I'm sure you could have taught me a number of things with the right sort of privacy, and maybe you would have shown me those brown eyes of yours."

"I'm not sure what you're implying," Hermione said.

He laughed. "I stumbled onto your little secret," Tom said, "Your secret little room. I must say my secret room was much more interesting. You really shouldn't wander around with that Hagrid, he's much too large to do anything secretly. It was easy to follow your movements."

"What are you trying to do, Tom? Invade my privacy?" Hermione asked.

"Oh I've already done that," Tom replied. "Your trunk is very complicated, but I am the top student in the year. It didn't take me too long to figure it out."

The password involved Ron Weasley. She highly doubted that he just figured it out. "Perhaps you should explain to me what you've found."

There it was. Hermione saw a twitch in Tom's eyebrow. He grabbed her again, the sleeve with the wand in it. She heard a snap as he squeezed her arm hard. "Oh was that your wand? Gee, I'm so sorry," Tom said, sarcastically. "But you're going to open that trunk for me."

"Like I need a wand to destroy you," Hermione said.

Hermione hit the bottom of Tom's nose as hard as she could with the palm of her hand. She felt the bone snap under the pressure. She felt his blood warm her skin. Tom hissed and grabbed Hermione's hair, pulling her head down tightly. Hermione's nails dug into his hand, trying to get him to let her go.

"I'm going to make you scream, Hermione Abercorn," Tom said. "I'm going to make you say all your secrets until you let me get a taste of that power of yours."

Hermione couldn't feel the blanket of magic that came in these situations. The only thing rising to her fingertips was panic. She could feel his skin breaking beneath her nibbled-down fingernails. She could feel something on his finger, something her nails couldn't break. "I'll die with them," Hermione snarled.

Tom released her. "Oh, I'll make you wish you were dead," he said, raising his own wand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

And Tom Riddle fell to the floor, dead.

Hermione Granger exhaled, staring at the corpse of the monster who ruined her life.

She looked up from the body to see who cast the spell. Tears swelled in her eyes as she looked at the tall, lanky redhead with deep amber eyes standing in front of her.


	16. Let the World turn without you Tonight

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Sixteen: Let the World turn without you Tonight

"Pull yourself together, Ms. Granger," the newcomer snapped. "We don't have time for any of your emotional snivelling."

"Merlin," Hermione said, "Is it really you, Severus?"

Hermione was too stunned to pick up the accent on his voice. It was the man's gait that gave Severus away. The elegant way the man hurried automatically made Hermione imagine Snape's black cloak quivering off behind him. His posture, too, was the perfect image of Snape. He always looked as if he felt too busy and too important just to be loitering around.

"We must hide the boy's body," Severus Snape said, pulling a cloak out of his pocket. "The quality of this invisibility cloak is nothing compared to the one that Mr. Potter dragged around, but it should serve its purpose well."

Snape tossed the cloak over the boy's body, and he cast mobilicorpus on the body. She clearly didn't see the body levitate, but she noticed Snape steering it with his wand. "Now follow me, Ms. Granger," he ordered. "We'll put it in the Room of Requirement."

Hermione took a deep breath before grabbing Tom Riddle's feet. "Think that you need to find where I want to go," Hermione said. "We can stuff his body in my trunk."

Three goes around and they were in the Room of Requirement, Hermione and Allie's version. Hermione opened an empty compartment of the trunk, and they stuffed in the body. Hermione noticed Marvolo Gaunt's ring on Tom's finger, the horcrux Dumbledore destroyed. Snape was busy flipping through the bag Tom carried with him, so Hermione pulled the ring off Tom's tense, dead finger, without a mention of it. She would discuss it later.

Snape tossed the bag into the compartment with Tom's corpse. Once Hermione had locked it up, she asked, "So it's over then?"

"I can't believe it took you this bloody long to kill him," Snape said.

"Allie-Albus thought that I could change him," Hermione explained, leaving out their reasoning behind this decision. "But I meant it's over in our original timeline. Voldemort has won?"

"I see we have too much to discuss and too little time to do so," Snape said. "Come, Ms. Granger. We will talk while I escort you back to the Gryffindor dorms."

"Slytherin," Hermione corrected. "I'm in the Slytherin dorms, and my last name is Abercorn here, although I've been adopted by the Audley's."

"I see you have been busy distracting yourself," Snape replied as they left the Room of Requirement. "How did you manage to get yourself into the Slytherin house?"

"I almost killed Tom before I got to the school," Hermione said. "Apparently the Sorting Hat considered that very Slytherin."

"But you're a Muggle-born," Snape said.

"Is this body one?" Hermione asked. "Perhaps the blood is pure enough for Slytherin, they must not be looking at the soul alone."

"I do not recall," Snape replied, "But that would be the logical answer."

Snape followed Hermione into the Slytherin common room, where Professor Slughorn stood chatting idly with his students. Hermione had missed his welcoming speech. "Ah, Miss. Abercorn," Professor Slughorn said at Hermione's entry. "I see you've met Herr Schreber. I suppose you found him ambling in the hallways?"

"I was running late," Snape explained, "And I found myself lost in the school. When I ran into Miss. Abercorn she offered to show me to where I needed to go, but I quickly found out that I had already missed the ceremony. So I escorted her back to her dormitory to excuse her for her lateness. She was telling me she has prefect responsibilities."

"Ah, how professional!" Slughorn said. "Armando was concerned about your tardiness, but I will take this opportunity to introduce you to my students first." Slughorn took a moment to look over his students. "But where is Mr. Riddle?"

Yaxley cleared her throat. "Professor, he left with Hermione," she said. "They left together as the ceremony was ending."

"Ah, the slight fellow?" Snape asked. "He left when Miss. Abercorn offered to help me." He turned to Hermione. "Didn't he say he was meeting you back here?"

"We shall not worry ourselves with Mr. Riddle," Slughorn replied. "He will meet you eventually."

"My students," Slughorn continued, "It is my pleasure to introduce Herr Severus Schreber. He will be temporarily taking Professor Dumbledore's position as Professor of Transfiguration, but Professor Kettleburn will continue being Head of Gryffindor, as Herr Schreber has not attended Hogwarts. Would you like to tell them about your history, Herr Schreber?"

Severus sighed, clearly uninterested in introducing himself. His tone was nonchalant, "I attended Durmstrang from '28-'35. I did some travelling and somewhat idle work with various potions' master. It has always been my intention to teach, although I applied for the librarian job as I heard Madam James intended on retiring. I had meant to gain experience and a bit of a reputation, then move on up. But with the staff shortage, Professor Dippet was willing to offer me a higher position."

Hermione finally noted the Eastern European, she thought perhaps German, accent. Snape's silky voice clashed with the harsh German accent quite elegantly, she thought.

"Ah, the boy is being modest!" Professor Slughorn explained, slapping Snape hard on the back. Snape's face stayed cool. "He was a prodigy! He started attending Durmstrang when he was six, and now he's a Professor at the age of twenty-two."

"I do not see how my age is relevant to the students," Severus said. "If you'll excuse me, Professor Slughorn, I am anxious to get settled."

"Oh yes, of course!" Professor Slughorn said. "Do you need help finding your room?"

"Miss. Gr-Abercorn has explained how to find Armando's office, and I will see him first," Severus said. "Miss. Abercorn also broke her wand on the way here. I take full blame for it. Is there any way she can replace it before classes start?"

Professor Slughorn seemed a bit surprised. Neither Herr Schreber or Miss. Abercorn had a reputation of being clumsy. Both were quite calculated. Professor Slughorn began, "Well, she could get an escort to Diagon Alley-"

"Excellent," Snape replied. "I'll see to that then, considering it is my fault."

"-but the girl will miss class," Professor Slughorn replied. "I am not sure that is accepta-"

"How can she participate in class without a wand?" Severus asked, clearly aware that he rarely wanted wands out during his own potion classes. "It is crucial for her to get her wand immediately. I will discuss it when I see Headmaster Dippet this evening."

"All right, Herr Schreber," Professor Slughorn said, showing his unease. "Good evening."

"Good evening, Professor Slughorn." Severus turned to the students and said, "I look forward to teaching you all," although his tone suggested otherwise.

And with that, Snape left the room. Hermione was surprised at how disappointed she was that he did not make eye contact or even acknowledge her before he left. Slughorn said a few more words, and soon enough Hermione was back in her room with Audley, Yaxley, and Abbot.

"How odd for Tom to disappear," Yaxley said, although her tone was casual.

"Good riddance to him," Audley replied. "He's become quite the prick since he took all the credit for killing that snake."

Abbot replied, "I am not having another debate with you on how much effort Tom made on killing the snake. Hermione said he helped, and his word and hers are all I need. So what's the opinion of that new Professor? Why do they call him 'Herr' instead of Professor?"

Hermione spoke up from folding her robes from today into her suitcase. She moved the ring into a pocket in her pyjamas to examine after everyone had fallen asleep. "It's a German title," Hermione explained, "Sometimes it's like 'Mister' and sometimes it suggests a noble title. We won't call him 'Professor' because he hasn't been teaching long enough to have the title of a 'Professor.' I believe even after he does have that title, we could say 'Herr Professor.'"

Yaxley shrugged, saying, "Well if he went to Durmstrang, he must be at least a half-blood, probably a pure-blood if that 'Herr' thing suggests nobility. Hopefully he sides with us Slytherins."

It hadn't gotten out that Hermione was muggle-born. She wasn't sure why Tom kept it to himself, but one of her theories was that he wanted to be the only one who tortured her, and if everyone in Slytherin knew, she would become a new target.

"And what about Slughorn stroking his ego?" Abbot noted. "Is he sucking up to him because he's supposed to be some prodigy?"

"I bet he marks us harder," Audley sighed, "Because we're much behind where he was at his age."

"Was he interesting to talk to, Hermione?" Yaxley asked. "Was he embarrassed because he couldn't find his way around Hogwarts?"

"Somehow, I get the feeling he would have found the way fine without me," Hermione replied. "His conversation was short and to the point."

Yaxley continued, "He didn't carry a suitcase with him. Isn't that odd? He hasn't been here yet, but he carries no luggage with him."

"Goodness, you were watching him closely," Abbot said. "And he is only twenty-two."

"I assure you that has nothing to do with it," Yaxley replied, her tone harsh.

Audley said to Abbot, "She's just as big of a gossip as you are. She's just watching him closely so she can tell everyone what she observed about him."

"If he is German," Abbot ignored Audley, "Do you think he's at Hogwarts, to escape the war?"

The question hung in the air as all of them considered this. Hermione, too, wondered. If he had been in the body since he was at least six, why would he come to Hogwarts now? Why wouldn't he have come earlier to make sure she had killed Tom Riddle immediately? It made no sense.

"How did he break your wand, Hermione?" Abbot asked.

"Oh, both Tom and I pulled out wands out when we heard Herr Schreber approaching," Hermione said. "We thought it might have been Peeves, but we hadn't seen Herr Schreber before. He must have felt threatened, and he disarmed me. Then, in the process of giving me back my wand, he stepped on it. It wasn't a big deal, I just felt silly for pulling out my wand like I did."

"What were you and Tom talking about?" Abbot asked.

Audley, like she did whenever Tom was brought up in conversation, changed the topic, "Anyway, I really hope Herr Schreber doesn't mark us harder. I was getting decent marks in Transfigurations."

"Well if he does," Hermione said. "We should thank him for it. It will only help us prepare for our N.E.W.T.s better."

"And Abercorn already stands up for him," Abbot said, winking at Yaxley.

"He stumbled on remembering your last name, too. Did you notice?" Yaxley added.

"I did," Abbot said. "And I'm sure she noticed that he was young! Tom Riddle isn't enough for you?"

Lucy Audley stood up. "I would rather Hermione dated the Drooble's Best Blowing Gum stuck to my shoe than Tom Riddle," she snarled. "You two are just jealous because he finds you two so common!"

"Common!" Abbot laughed. "We are far from common!"

And then the conversation turned to them tracing their bloodlines as back as far as they could. Audley tried to explain that Tom wasn't interested in bloodlines, but the other two were no longer interested. Hermione was just relieved that they dropped the subject of Snape. She didn't know what to make up about him. She just wanted to know what had happened to him and why he was back in time with her. She fell asleep listening to the tense voices of her roommates and another soft whisper she thought was just her dreams.


	17. There's no Hope in Hoping for the Future

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

A/N: Brace yourself for a long one! There are only four more (shorter) installments after this one, and I just hit 50k!  
Thanks again for all the reviews and support! I love hearing from everyone!

Chapter Seventeen: There's no Hope in Hoping for the Future

"Can you feel it, Miss. Abercorn?"

It was the Bloody Baron, hovering near the ceiling in their bedroom. His voice was a harsh whisper. She had never spoken to the Bloody Baron before. The only ghost she had ever spoken with was Peeves, but that was usual. The Bloody Baron didn't seem to have the same relationship with his students that Nearly Headless Nick had with his. Hermione couldn't tell if she was still asleep or if she was actually awake. Her roommates still slept as if there wasn't a spirit in the room.

The Bloody Baron continued, "Something has shifted. Something is here. Not one of us, and certainly not one of you, something else."

Hermione was positive that she had never seen any of the ghosts scared like this before. Not even when Nearly Headless Nick was petrified by the basilisk. The Bloody Baron's pale eyes rolled from one end of the room to the other, seeking out something he couldn't see.

"What is it?" Hermione whispered back.

Hermione suddenly felt heavy, as if something was sitting on her chest. She could feel the hair on her arms rising.

"I do not know," the Bloody Baron replied. "It's an essence of something, something evil, Miss. Abercorn." He hesitated, looking around the room, before he continued. "We're not all evil, you know. We feel remorse. This- this doesn't."

"Do you mean ghosts?" Hermione asked.

"I mean Slytherins," the Bloody Baron replied, sharply. "I must go and discuss this with the others. They must feel it too."

Hermione opened her mouth to ask more, but the Baron flew through the wall of her bedroom. She could hear her heart screaming in her ears. The Ring. She could feel the weight on her chest increase. She felt like she was suffocating. And before Hermione could find the ring – wasn't it in her suitcase? – Hermione fell asleep, her charmed pillow falling off the bed.

When she awoke again she was in the Room of Requirement. Hermione knew her sight was just misty enough for it to be a dream. When she needed to wake up from a dream, she always jumped out a window, but the Room had no windows. It looked like the large, spacious version that Hermione and Allie used for training.

Tom Riddle approached her, his skin wan and his eyes cloudy, as if he had been the Bloody Baron talking to her. "Hermione," Tom hissed, "I'm here for your secrets."

Before Hermione could think to reinforce her occlumency shields, Ron appeared beside Tom. Ron looked like he did at Bill's wedding. He was even wearing the suit. "You stay out of my thoughts," Hermione snarled at Tom, trying to block them out. "You won't find anything you want here."

"What's wrong, 'Mione?" Ron asked. "You don't want to see me?"

Both of the males approached Hermione, and Hermione backed up against a wall. Tom ran a cool finger against her cheek which she promptly slapped away. Tom's laugh echoed through the empty room. Hermione kept telling herself to wake up. She had to wake up.

Ron hugged Hermione, tight like she remembered, tucking his head on her shoulder and his cold nose just underneath her chin. He breathed her in. She told herself to concentrate. Close her mind.

Tom was gone, there was only Ron left, holding her. She bit her bottom lip, looking around the room while hugging Ron back. She ran her fingers through his thick red hair, and he kissed the sweet spot where neck met collarbone. She told herself to concentrate.

Hermione was wearing the dress she wore to the wedding. Ron told her how beautiful she looked, kissing her again, letting his fingers get tangled in her knotted hair. Hermione closed her eyes to keep her focus, feeling Ron's lips trace her cheekbone.

Ron's lips found her, giving her one of his sloppy kisses she missed so much. She could feel him, Tom testing her occlumency shields, tickling them, trying to find a weakness. Every pressure point matched Ron's fingers moving up Hermione's dress.

Hermione wrenched her eyes open, trying to focus on keeping those shields strong. But Ron had changed. She could see Tom flickering underneath his skin, his blue eyes shifting glazed and black, his hair darkening, his skin paling, as if Ron and Tom were one hologram.

Hermione tried to fight him off, "Don't you love me, Hermione?" Ron asked, his voice cracking. "Don't you want me inside of you? Don't push me out, Hermione."

That's when the room started to shake, and Ron and Hermione had to grasp onto each other for balance. Hermione didn't want to let go. Hermione woke up with Lucy Audley shaking her. "Merlin, waking you up is like waking up the dead," Audley said. "Your Gryffindor cronies are outside the Slytherin dorms looking for you."

Hermione looked around her room for a moment. She could feel sweat causing her pyjamas to stick to her body. She saw her pillow on the floor. "Is Poppy there too?" Hermione asked.

Hermione scoped out the rest of the room. The sun was just peeking through their window. Yaxley had just woken up, but Abbot was still asleep. Audley was already dressed, and Hermione assumed she was working in the common room. Audley wasn't known to be a morning person, but she did have difficulty sleeping when she was stressed out. Hermione decided that Snape could stress anyone out.

Hermione changed out of her pyjamas, and she found the ring in one of the pockets. Had she put it there? She couldn't remember. She threw the ring in her suitcase, making sure it was away from her, and proceeded to get dressed.

"Which one is Poppy?" Audley asked, turning away from Hermione. "The one who looks like she has a broom up her butt-"

"That's Minerva," Yaxley added. "She's the Quidditch announcer. I quite like her commentary, especially when she tears up our Slytherin thugs. They're a poor excuse for Quidditch players, they are. They don't let girls on the team, so I figure they deserve everything they get. It's not like she's attacking me or my house personally."

"Okay, so not her. I'm assuming she's not the hairy one because Poppy doesn't seem like a man's name, so the ones who pretends to be a nurse?" Audley asked.

"Yes," Hermione said, "But she's a great nurse."

Hermione didn't take the time to get frustrated or angry. She just went downstairs to see her friends. It must have been important if they were trying to get her attention. Hermione was surprised that Audley didn't point out how upset they looked. Audley didn't warn her about anything. Poppy was in tears, and Minerva was stone-faced. Hagrid looked like he didn't know how to look.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked immediately. "What's happened?"

"We just heard," Minerva said. "Professor Narayan and Professor Dumbledore are back. Poppy was working a graveyard shift at the Hospital Wing to help the nervous and homesick first years, and she overheard them come in and talking."

"A-Allie's d-dead," Poppy sobbed, great heaving sobs. "Her p-par-"

"Her parents are furious," Minerva explained. "They blame Hogwarts, of course. Apparently her... remains have been back for a while. Professor Dumbledore and Professor Narayan have been trying to manage the situation, but it hasn't been going well. They were in the Hospital wing to try to treat some of Professor Narayan's injuries, but even if they had gone to St. Mungo's, they wouldn't have been able to heal them."

"I don' understan' how anythin' could... do that ter Dumbledore," Hagrid added. "Yeh say she was Dumbledore from yer time, but Dumbledore's a powerful wizard."

"I don't understand it either," Hermione said.

She didn't believe it, not really. But she also didn't believe he was dead, not really, when Snape had killed him. It was logical, yes, but in her heart it couldn't have been true. She knew Harry felt the same way, but she took the stance that he was dead. Theories would have been useless then, it would have only hindered them. He needed to be dead so they could move on. But she was right then. Dumbledore wasn't dead. And she was certain that he wasn't dead now.

"T-the-" Poppy started.

Minerva put a hand on Poppy's shoulder to steady her. Poppy pressed her eyes closed. "The funeral is today. It's private because they don't want Hogwarts representatives there," Minerva said. "But I say we go anyway. Poppy and I have our Apparation licenses, so we sneak off the grounds and then we can try to side-along you and Hagrid. We don't represent Hogwarts. We're her friends."

"Of course we're going," Hermione said. "When is it? When should we sneak away?"

"During breakfast," Minerva said. "I don't think we should wear our Hogwarts robes either. Do you have any clothes that are appropriate?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "What about you, Hagrid?"

Minerva cleared her throat. Poppy cried harder. "My Dad passed away two years ago," Hagrid said, his voice steady. "I should be able ter fit into what I wore then."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, softly.

How had she forgotten to put that into her timeline? She had been too busy trying to befriend Tom Riddle. And he was dead now anyway. Well, he almost was, and she should have killed him in the first place. She could have remembered to be there for her friends if she had. She would have been happy and relieved. She could have gone with Allie. She could have saved her, if she even needed to be saved.

The four prepared to leave. They were going to sneak out the front gate. The rumour was that the door was only locked when coming in, not going out, perhaps because such a small percentage of students could actually leave that way. They decided they would give it a shot and hoped it would open for them. Minerva would take Hagrid, because Poppy was in no state to take such a large companion. Poppy would then take Hermione.

However, before they managed to breach the territory, Herr Schreber interrupted. Hermione noticed he took on his regular attire, black clothing with the billowing cape. It was a big change from the common Muggle suit that she had seen him in before. His flaming red hair was in tight curls, and his amber eyes narrowed in on them. He looked mad. The four stopped as he approached them.

"And where is Miss. Abercorn off to today?" he said, his voice even and cool. "Are you getting a head start on getting a new wand, or should I assume you're giving more directions? I feel the latter a little unbelievable, since your peers would already know their way around their school."

Hagrid and Poppy froze. Minerva stood her ground, her eyes staying cool. Hermione said, "It's something like showing them around the school, yes."

"Our friend's funeral is today," Minerva continued. "So we've decided not to miss it."

Severus looked at Hermione. She expected him to use legilimens on her, but he didn't. "Was she a student here?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Minerva said. "She was Allison Ejiofor. She was a very good friend of ours. She was the reason the four of us became friends."

His eyes bore back into Hermione, and he used legilimens this time. He saw images of Albus as the teenage girl. "I'll unlock the door and I'll side-along you," Severus said, pointing to Hagrid. "Miss. McGonagall, is it? You take Miss. Abercorn. I'm afraid your other friend may be too distressed to side-along successfully."

"Yes sir," Minerva said. "Thank you, sir."

Minerva told Severus the location of a safe, clear place to apparate to for the funeral. It would be a bit of a walk, but they had enough time to make it. They made the trip successfully, but the walk over to the funeral home suffered from an awkward silence. The only noise was Poppy trying to repress her sobs. Hermione hadn't expected Poppy Pomfrey to be so upset. She had always seemed strong when she was treating her students, but perhaps she had the control in those situations. She certainly didn't have any control now.

The ceremony was in a church. Hermione didn't know the background of Allie's body, perhaps she was a half-blood and one of her parents had a strong Muggle faith. They ducked into the back pew and Hagrid was on the end, hunched over and trying to shrink himself in every well possible. His hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and Hermione suspected that Minerva was behind it.

Poppy sat between Minerva and Hagrid. Hagrid had his pockets stuffed full of tissues. He admitted earlier to them that he was probably going to start crying too. Minerva was beside Hermione, and Snape was beside Hermione. He whispered, "Are you all right?"

"I'm hanging in," she said. "I don't think it has hit me yet."

"Do you doubt it?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted. "Do you?"

"He defeated Grindelwald before. I can't see him being defeated this time around," Severus said.

"So it's silly to worry," Hermione said, decided. "And it's even sillier to be sad."

"Perhaps," Severus replied.

"But what if we're wrong," Hermione said.

"Then we mourn later," he replied. "Knowing you, you'd rather stay strong and stoic for your friends."

Minerva nudged Hermione, nodding in the direction of Professor Narayan. She noticed his face was hollowed out, and he had large bruises underneath his eyes, but he had a relaxed look about him. His friendly goatee sat on his chin. Professor Narayan approached their pew. "Do you mind if we switch places?" Professor Narayan asked Herr Schreber. "I'm hoping to have a word with Miss. Abercorn."

Saqi and Severus had not managed to meet yet, and they didn't seem to acknowledge who the other one was. Hermione wondered if Severus had ever met Saqi in their original timeline. She thought it unlikely. Severus replied, "Not at all," and motioned for Hermione to switch places with him, instead of him switching places with Professor Narayan.

Hermione stood up and Snape slid into her seat. She awkwardly manoeuvred around Severus' gangly knees and sat down between him and Professor Narayan. Hermione noticed a Saqi was missing his wedding fingers and swollen, red stumps were left in their place. But the rest of his fingers were mostly intact, only his pinkie fingers were missing their nails, and she imagined that process was painful.

"That girl saved my life," Saqi whispered to Hermione. Snape leaned in close to her, clearly eavesdropping. Saqi continued, "To Grindelwald's men, she claimed to know more about the school and Dumbledore than me. She said she worked with him privately, getting tutored and all that, that she knew the extent of his powers. She said that we weren't even friends, he and I, simply colleagues."

"Did she ever talk?" Hermione asked. She knew the answer, but she felt compelled to ask anyway, as if Allie would have been wronged somehow without the answer that proved her strength.

"Never," Saqi said. "She didn't say a word, not even after a year of this. I know I wouldn't have lasted as long as she did. I'm not sure where she drew her power from, but she looked older than me by the time they were done with her. She had a lot of power pressed into her."

"Merlin," Snape whispered.

Hermione had to ask, "So you saw her...?"

"Yes," Professor Narayan said. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. She wanted to tell you something."

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

Saqi replied, "Well, I don't quite understand it, but-"

"Just tell me," Hermione replied. "I probably will."

"She told me to tell you, 'It's about time.' Does this make sense to you?"

Biting her lip, Hermione nodded. Albus had already lived through so much, it only made sense that he accepted death so easily. She couldn't bite back the tears. "It does," she said, choking out a laugh. "It actually does."

She felt a cold hand slide into hers. Snape's face didn't reveal any sadness or concern, but the fact that his hand held hers said enough for Hermione. She squeezed his hand. Hermione said, "Thank you for telling me, Professor. And I'm glad you're all right."

"I just wish Albus had been there sooner," Professor Saqi replied. "I almost think the girl believed she could end the war all by herself. For a while, I believed she could too."

Hermione wished he would stop talking and leave her alone. Allie had fought Grindelwald once before. Hermione remembered how exhausted she was after she fought the basilisk. It must have been that her body wasn't able to support the amount of magic she was exhibiting. Perhaps Allie couldn't release the amount of energy she needed to end the war. Maybe her body could only release enough magic to keep her and Saqi alive.

Hermione didn't get the opportunity to socialize more with Professor Narayan. The ceremony began and Hermione suddenly felt very uncomfortable being present for it. She felt guilty. The parents of Albus' female body had lost their daughter twice, the first time when Dumbledore possessed it, and they had to adapt to the new eccentric in the body, and now when it came back a casualty of war. Hermione could feel her heart throbbing in her chest, rubbing her eye with her free hand.

When the ceremony was over, the six of them lingered a bit too long. Professor Narayan was approached by Allie's mother. She slapped him across the face. She sobbed, "How dare you! My baby would still be here if it weren't for you!"

"I just wanted to show my respect," Professor Narayan explained, keeping his voice even.

Allie's mother looked at Hermione and the others. "Where's the one that brought her back?" her mother demanded. "You bring all of Hogwarts except the one that brought her back?"

"He's back over there," Professor Narayan explained. "But these were Allie's friends. It's my understanding that they came of their own free will and snuck out of the school."

"It sounds like it's getting easier to sneak out of Hogwarts," the woman replied. "Thank you all for reassuring me of the incompetence of the school. I'd like to re-inform you that none of you are invited to the burial."

And with that she walked away. The six of them left the church and headed back to where they could apparate outside of Hogwarts. Minerva took the time to introduce Professor Narayan to Herr Schreber so they would finally notice that they were colleagues. Hermione felt her cheeks burn, hoping that Professor Narayan hadn't notice their handholding. She also desperately wanted to talk to Severus, but couldn't linger back to talk to him in case Saqi had noticed that they were holding hands.

When they reached the school, both Professor Narayan and Herr Schreber vouched for the students absences. They didn't lose any house points, but they were scolded for leaving the school. They were expected to go back to their classes. Poppy and Hagrid managed to excuse themselves for being too emotional, and they spent the rest of the day in the hospital wing. However, Hermione and Minerva went to their classes. Hermione couldn't just linger around feeling sorry for herself, she wanted to keep her mind busy, and she suspected Minerva was the same way.

After classes she met with Minerva, Hagrid, and Poppy back in the Room of Requirement. They discussed their memories of Allie and theories about what Dumbledore was doing (they all decided he was facing off with Grindelwald). "Tom Riddle still hasn't shown up?" Minerva asked.

Hermione hated that she hesitated. She couldn't tell them. Dumbledore would be back shortly, and if he really wanted information, he could pull it out of their minds. She didn't care if he found out she thought she was from the future. He could send her to St. Mungo's and have her committed, but if he found out who Severus was, well she wasn't ready to ruin his life yet, not until they had discussed it.

"No," Hermione replied. "Maybe he's off discovering more about his past or seeking out horcruxes early. I'm afraid we have deviated from the original timeline too much to predict what is happening now, at least not in Tom Riddle's case."

At that moment, Snape made his way into the Room of Requirement. He hesitated, with the door open, staring at Minerva, Hagrid, and Poppy. Hermione could see in his face that he was debating between walking away and stepping in.

"Were you looking for me, Herr Schreber?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," he said simply, stepping into the room.

Hermione filled in the blanks, "Herr Schreber found me stepping out of the room, and so he unintentionally found out about the room."

"Thank yeh for helpin' us out today, Professor," Hagrid said, standing up. "I didn' wan' ter be splinched."

"You're quite welcome, Mr. Hagrid," he replied. "Are these meetings anything I should be concerned about, Miss. Abercorn? I do hope you're not starting a gang I'm going to have to shut down."

"It's hard," Poppy said, "Being from other houses and still finding places to meet without being disturbed. We can't really talk in the library, and we're often pulled away from each other if we meet in the Great Hall."

"Indeed," Herr Schreber replied. "I'm here to go with Miss. Abercorn to pick up her new wand, since she missed our appointment this morning. Mr. Ollivander is keeping his shop open later for her. I suppose you were all headed back to your common rooms anyway, considering curfew will be beginning in about five minutes."

"Yes sir," Minerva replied, coldly.

Her friends left the Room of Requirement, and as Minerva left she gave Hermione a knowing look. When her friends were gone, Severus approached her. "How much do they know?" he asked.

"They know about me," Hermione replied. "Allie had disappeared, I had just killed the basilisk, and Dumbledore just told me he wasn't going to let me kill Tom Riddle. What was I supposed to do?"

"You were supposed to kill Tom Riddle before he even opened the Chamber of Secrets," Severus said.

"I know," Hermione said, "But he's gone now. Are we just going to keep the body in the trunk or are we going to dispose of it?"

"I've hunted out a volcano where we can toss the body," Severus said. "Just a couple of charms and we can get up there no problem."

"A volcano?" Hermione asked.

"Parícutin erupted a few months ago, and it's still leaking out lava. We want to make sure none of his body survives in case someone tries to resurrect him," Severus explained. "I'm going out tomorrow to destroy the remains of Tom Riddle Senior."

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"I'll tell you on the way," Severus said. "We should act before Dumbledore gets back, especially if he is as suspicious of you as you say."

"I just want you to know, I haven't told them about you," Hermione said. "I didn't care if Dumbledore found out about me, but I couldn't have your second life-"

"Ms. Granger, I would appreciate it if you stopped waffling and started helping me move this trunk."

So Hermione and Snape manoeuvred the trunk into the hallway. Snape levitated the trunk with the cloak concealing it. They couldn't move too fast without the cloak blowing off the trunk. They were cautious, hoping to avoid leering ghosts, and moved through the hallways slowly and quietly. Snape wouldn't tell her what had happened until they were off school grounds.

But, of course, they ran into Professor Narayan in the hallway. "Ah, and my new colleague is escorting a student back off to her room," he said. "Has she been seen sneaking about after curfew?"

"No," Severus replied, somewhat sternly. "At Dippet's request, I am going with her to get her new wand. Mr. Ollivander has been kind enough to keep his store open late for us. We are already running late, so if you don't mind-"

"Of course," Professor Narayan said. "I don't have to give you a warning about giving certain students too much attention, do I?"

"I wouldn't know how seriously to take a warning from a Professor who spent the last, was it four years?, with a student who followed him to Germany," Severus replied.

"Miss. Abercorn can assure you that I did not know Miss. Ejiofor before our journey together," Professor Narayan replied, clearly insulted.

"I am sure she can," Severus replied. "And how many years was Miss. Abercorn working with you, Professor? I've heard that she used to work with you, but no one has cleared up what she was actually doing with you, nor did anyone take your place after you had left."

"What you are implying is neither appropriate nor correct, Herr Schreber," Professor Narayan replied.

"And neither is what you are implying about me, Professor Narayan," Snape replied.

Professor Narayan's brown eyes seemed to size up Snape. "I was planning on thanking you for assisting the students who snuck out to the funeral," Professor Narayan replied, "But I believe I may have misjudged your character."

"You wouldn't be the first," Severus replied. "If you'll excuse us, we really must hurry."

"Of course," Professor Narayan replied, watching Snape pass coolly.

Hermione noticed that he didn't look at where the trunk hovered once, but it didn't help her relax. She didn't put it past Professor Narayan to follow them carefully. They didn't speak until they were able to apparate off the ground, which they did.

"I'm not sure your conversation with Professor Saqi was entirely wise," Hermione replied. "He is quite close with Professor Dumbledore."

Severus simply shrugged. "I hadn't met him before in our timeline, so I assumed he wasn't important enough to worry about," he replied. "I'm just going to put a few charms on us to protect us from the heat. They're just temporary, so let's be quick."

Hermione replied, sharply, "Allie died to save-"

"Albus," Severus said. "The nickname for him is absolutely absurd. It cannot be that difficult to differentiate the two Dumbledores."

"She-"

"He," Snape corrected.

"He requested that I call him Allie so that I didn't accidentally reveal his position," Hermione replied. "It became a habit, one that you would have if you didn't grow up the second time somewhere else. Why didn't you send yourself back to meet with us?"

"There was always the possibility that you didn't kill him right away," Severus replied. "I thought it would be more strategically valuable to have an 'ace in the hole' as they say. Perhaps you would be less suspicious if you weren't chumming around with and holding secret meetings with everyone noble under the sun. It's good to have backup that no one knows you know."

"Nonetheless, I fear you undermine Professor Narayan importance," Hermione replied.

"What importance?" Severus replied. "What we've came here to do is done."

Hermione could feel the heat as they neared the top of the volcano. She wondered how much heat she would be feeling without the charms. Snape had taken the invisibility cloak off the trunk and put it in his pocket, so the trunk floated along in front of them. He had put charms on the trunk as well to keep it from burning.

"Then what do we do now?" Hermione replied.

"We confirm that it is done," Snape said.

And with that, they reached an opening in the volcano. Hermione opened the compartment with Tom's body. She decided she would talk about her dream with Snape later. She wanted more information about what had happened in their timeline, and she knew Snape wouldn't willingly sit around and hand out information if there was something else they should have been doing. Snape stuffed his bag into Hermione's hand, checked the pockets of Tom's corpse, then flipped it into the volcano. They watched as his skin burned and melted into the lava.

"What's in his bag?" Hermione asked, looking away from the boy.

"I haven't looked too closely," Snape admitted. "I only flipped through one of the notebooks, which had 'I am Lord Voldemort' written all over it."

Hermione chuckled, and threw the bag back into the trunk. She'd look through it later to make sure there was nothing else she had to be concerned about. As the body disappeared, they began to walk back down the volcano.

"So what happened?" Hermione asked. "How did you get back here?"

"We won the war," Severus said. "Turns out Longbottom wasn't dead."

"What?" Hermione asked. "Ginny saw his hair."

"Apparently the boy apparated out of there and by the time he got back the battle was over. He couldn't find anyone to contact. Ultimately he found Luna Lovegood, and she went to see him the day the office building of the Quibbler was destroyed," Severus explained.

"I thought Luna died there with her father," Hermione gasped. "How didn't we know this?"

"I don't know," Snape replied. "I suppose they didn't know how to contact you. It began harder to keep track of people after Potterwatch was shut down. They certainly didn't want to announce that they were alive, and you were all moving around so much it would be impossible to contact you, let alone find you. You and I wouldn't have been able to talk without Phineas' portrait. We only managed to see each other in emergency situations."

For a split second, Hermione thought that Ron might have been alive too. Maybe he had escaped like Neville and couldn't contact them again. In that second, Hermione imagined a completely different life for Ron, one where he fought alongside Neville and Luna. But she knew it was an irrational fantasy. He wasn't alive. If there was any possibility that he had survived, Ginny would have searched through the fires of hell to find him. And Hermione would have followed her.

Snapping out of her thought, Hermione asked, "Wait, you didn't talk to them?"

"They didn't know," Severus replied. "They didn't know where my allegiances truly were."

"What about the other horcruxes?" Hermione asked.

"Lucius Malfoy," Snape replied. "Voldemort killed Draco because Lucius killed Harry. The interesting thing is that if it had been the other way around, I believe Draco would have been the first in line to serve Voldemort. He wouldn't have cared if his own father had died. But Lucius wouldn't take it anymore. He lost everything. I left a few pieces of literature around for Lucius to stumble onto, and he hunted out the horcruxes himself, but it was Longbottom who delivered the final blow, on both Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy."

"And what about you?" Hermione said. "I suppose there was no one left to vouch for you."

"Only Phineas' portrait, who is not exactly a respected member of the Order," Severus replied.

"How long after I left did we win?" she asked.

"Ten years," he replied. "Gods know how I survived as long as I did."

"Ten years," Hermione repeated, deep in thought.

They were nearing their apparation point, and Hermione linked arms with Snape after he reassured her it was the safest for her: "You don't know how your new body would react to untrained apparation."

"You know I did survive five years without you holding my hand," Hermione replied.

"And so did Voldemort," Snape snapped. He opened his mouth to say something else, but quickly closed it.

"Were you going to say something about Allie?" Hermione asked.

"Albus." Snape corrected.

"Well, were you?"

"Ms. Granger, as much as I adore arguing with you, I am quite exhausted and would just like to get your new wand and return to the castle," Snape replied.

"Professor, do you think Saqi really did see her-"

Severus cut Hermione off: "Him, and I am not having this discussion with you. Not now."

"I don't think you should call me Ms. Granger anymore," Hermione replied. "And I am not going to call you Professor Snape. We should stick with the names we have in this timeline so it doesn't accidentally slip out. It could also get confusing once our counterparts come along."

"I assure you that I will not make a mistake," Snape replied. "I think your determination to blend in with this timeline is part of the reason why you have been so sloppy with Voldemort. Remember where you have come from. Remember why you're a 'Ms.' instead of a 'Miss.'"

"Yes, yes," Hermione replied, matter-of-factly. "I will forever sleep with a charmed pillow to keep me from screaming. Half of my memories are literally bottled up in that trunk following us. I am destined to never find happiness again. I remember that. Okay. Let's just go."

If Professor Snape felt any regret for his words, he didn't show it.

They arrived at Diagon Alley. Both Herr Schreber and Miss. Abercorn apologized for their tardiness, but Mr. Ollivander would have none of it. He was excited to get another wand out for a student. Snape kept the trunk under the invisibility cloak during their visit. It took a while, but eventually Hermione had a new wand, a 12 inch willow with a dragon heartstring. Hermione paid, and they promptly left again.

They came back onto campus, and Snape offered to take the trunk back to the Room of Requirement so Hermione could just head back and get some sleep for the next day. "I'd just like one quick word before we part ways, Herr Schreber," Hermione said.

"What is it?" Snape snapped.

Hermione was pretty sure that Snape didn't feel like talking to her, not that she blamed him. She wasn't sure she'd want to talk to her either, and she definitely didn't feel like talking to him. She hesitated. Everything had become much more jumbled up since he came back. She had her plans, long-term, and the reason why she was being torn apart now was because he had messed them up.

"I just wanted to thank you," Hermione said. "For helping me out."

"Well apparently you needed it," Snape replied. "Good night, Ms. Granger."

"Good night, Herr Schreber," she replied.

Hermione crept quietly back into her bedroom, where she found her roommates already asleep. As she changed into her pyjamas, she searched for the ring in the suitcase. She wanted to make sure she didn't have another nightmare. She wasn't sure she would be able to wake up from another one. She took everything out of her suitcase, but the ring was nowhere to be found.


	18. You Take Answers I Give Questions

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.  
A/N: It should be obvious that my characters' opinions do not necessarily reflect my own.  
Two chapters left of this one and Hattie Potter starts up again tomorrow!

Chapter Eighteen: You Take Answers I Give Questions

"Where were you last night?" Yaxley asked as they were getting ready for classes the following day. "We must have stayed up talking until four."

Audley was still asleep, but Abbot was already ready for them to go down for breakfast. Abbot said, "I do believe she was lurking about with Herr Schreber," Abbot said. "Avery spotted them when he was sneaking off for a snog with some Ravenclaw."

"We went out to pick up my new wand," Hermione said, pulling it out and flicking it. "He's probably like Professor Narayan, trying to relate to the students. He is young."

"I thought you didn't think Professor Saqi was desperate to relate to his students," Yaxley added.

"I didn't think he was desperate to do it, but I think he does try to relate to them," Hermione said. "Besides, I spend time with Professor Saqi and you don't question that."

"One," Yaxley said, "Herr Schreber is a fox."

Abbot cut in, "No, I think Professor Saqi is much better looking. I prefer my tea to be dark. I'm not into that ginger thing."

"Well, I'm not into that ethnic thing," Yaxley said. "Herr Schreber-"

"Could be a Nazi," Abbot said.

"Schreber is a Jewish name," Yaxley said. "He can't be a Nazi if he's Jewish. And that is a Jewish name."

"I'm not sure if it is a Jewish name," Hermione replied.

"Could be a Nazi," Abbot repeated.

"Nonetheless," Yaxley continued. "Two, Professor Saqi is a queer. Even if Hermione wanted to do something with him, he wouldn't want to do something with Hermione. Therefore, he can't be suspect like Herr Schreber is."

"He's not a poof," Abbot said.

Abbot had become very fond of Muggle Studies over the years and thus changed her opinion of Professor Saqi as well. She was the top student in the class. She claimed to the other Slytherins it was because she liked to know how superior they were to them, but Hermione knew she was infatuated with the Muggle's dependence on technology and she was fascinated with the idea of physical invention rather than the magical invention that few people were actually capable of.

"He's a poof, Abbot," Yaxley replied. "He likes men. Lucretia suspected him and Dumbledore were, you know, because you could never find Saqi in his own office, but as soon as you check Dumbledore's office there Saqi is lingering around."

Abbot frowned. "I think you're grasping at straws. We always hang out and we're not, you know."

"We don't always hang out," Yaxley said.

"We're taking the same classes," Abbot said.

Hermione had finally finished getting ready. "I'm going to head off to breakfast, you two," Hermione cut in. "Is Audley all right?"

"She complained about being tired yesterday," Abbot said.

"Maybe she's caught a cold," Hermione said.

"She does sleep like the dead," Abbot added.

"Let's let her sleep off the day. We'll vouch for her being sick," Hermione said.

"All right," Abbot agreed.

The girls often helped each other out in times of sickness or when a time of the month hits one of them particularly bad. While originally there were problems, they eventually grew out of petty arguments and decided it was easier to help each other out than to fight one another.

"But you haven't escaped telling us about Herr Schreber. You'll tell us everything in the evening, I hope?" Yaxley said.

Hermione laughed. "There's nothing to tell," she said.

"Then tell me about the nothing," Yaxley said.

"I will," Hermione said, "Tonight though."

"I am looking forward to it," Yaxley said.

As Hermione walked away, she heard Abbot say, "Professor Saqi is not a poof."

Hermione slid onto the bench where Hagrid, Minerva, and Poppy were already beginning to dig into their breakfasts. All of them looked a little run down with bags hanging under their eyes. Minerva yawned as Hermione sat down. She opened her mouth immediately to tell them about the missing ring, but then remembered that they didn't know Tom was dead. Why couldn't she tell them again?

She noticed Herr Schreber step in. He refused eye contact, forcing Hermione to look back at her food. Hermione was lost with Snape here. It was like she was a kid again with no control, a kid again at Hogwarts without Harry and Ron, but she couldn't tell her friends in this timeline. It would possibly expose her and Severus to Dumbledore, but did this exposure even matter anymore?

"I have to tell you guys something," Hermione said.

"What is it?" Minerva asked. "Is it about Herr Schreber? Why is he so interested in you?"

"Oh, it's nothing about that," Hermione said with an eye roll. She hated that everyone was interested in that. "Before Herr Schreber took me away from Tom, he gave me a ring. I put it in my pocket yesterday and now I can't find it."

"Do yeh think it's a horcrux?" Hagrid asked.

"It was in the original timeline," Hermione explained. "Dumbledore destroyed it."

"Do you think he was trying to possess you?" Minerva asked. "By giving you the ring?"

"It's possible. I had a nightmare that night. He was trying to find out what I was hiding from him, and I don't think letting him see the destruction he causes is a good idea. I think it will only motivate him more."" Hermione said, "But if someone else has it now..."

Hermione explained what happened to Ginny in her second year. Luckily, there wasn't a Chamber of Secrets to open anymore, but there was still a danger in Voldemort coming back. They just wouldn't know what to be looking for. Before they could discuss it further they had to go to class. They agreed they'd meet later to talk about it more.

All four of them checked the fingers of their classmates. It was reasonable that one of Hermione's roommates had taken the ring, but it was on none of their fingers, and they could have easily passed it along. Plus, Hermione's roommates had never stolen anything before, and the ring hardly looked like anything worth stealing.

Hermione lingered after Snape's transfiguration class, the class just before dinner. Of course, transfiguration was hardly Severus' forte, but he had more than enough years now to understand the subject enough to teach it. "May I have a word, Herr Schreber?" Hermione asked.

"I have dinner duty in the Great Hall," Severus replied. "I can't be late, so walk with me."

"Of course," Hermione replied as they started to move. Hermione had to quicken her pace to keep up with him. "I had a ring from a certain Dark Lord, but it's- "

Professor Narayan cut them off in the hallway. "Ah, Herr Schreber," Professor Narayan said. "I see we have dinner duty together."

"Indeed," Severus replied coolly.

"I don't think I've ever seen you without-"

"This determination you have to insinuate that there is something going on between Ms. Granger and myself is getting quite exhausting," Severus replied, sharply. "I am a professional, Professor Narayan."

Professor Narayan began laughing. Snape almost jumped out of his skin at Saqi's loud, boisterous laughter. Saqi slapped Snape on the back. "I have to admit, I was worried about you, Severus, but you don't even remember the name of the student you're talking to," Saqi said. He took a moment to let out another loud guffaw. "It's a relief really. Come, let's have dinner."

Of course, that ended Hermione's conversation with Snape. She was fuming by the time she sat down with her friends again, but she had nothing new to contribute. They discussed their suspicions nonetheless, but no one was acting differently. Hermione mentioned that it didn't usually happen right out. At least, they didn't notice it with Ginny straight out, although her friends didn't notice anything wrong with Ginny at all.

However, before dinner was over, Armando Dippet slammed the doors open and stood at his seat at the head of the table. "Grindelwald has been defeated," he announced, "The war is over in the wizarding world, and it should follow to the Muggle World in a matter of months!"

The rest of the evening was a blur through student celebrations. The feast was extended with Butterbeer and extra desserts. Both Hermione and Audley spent the night writing to her father, explaining the predictions as to when the war in the Muggle World would end.

After they sent Audley's owl into the night with the rest of the owls, Hermione left to meet Hagrid, Minerva, and Poppy in the Room of Requirement to discuss strategies as to how to find the ring and who took it. They hoped they wouldn't have to kill the person that took it too. They knew there was a time limit. At least they could see Tom Riddle's end, if he hadn't been ended already.

Hermione decided she could check Tom Riddle's bag for hints, perhaps of people he talked to, or maybe he had taken notes on his progresses of discovering his roots or mapping out horcruxes. When they got into the Room of Requirement, however, Hermione's trunk was gone. None of her friends commented on the missing trunk, perhaps they thought she moved it to her room, but she was distracted for the remainder of the conversation. Of course, she knew Snape took it.

She excused herself from the Room of Requirement to seek him out in his office. They didn't give him Dumbledore's office. Instead he had some obscure office Hermione recognized as the temporary, substitute professor office. She had seen Professor Grubbly-Plank hovering there on occasion. It looked similar to a storage closet, small and cramped with old items that looked like they had been there for centuries. Snape would have looked stranger sitting at the tiny desk there if he didn't look completely different from the Professor she once knew. She saw her trunk in the corner.

"Excuse me, Herr Schreber," Hermione said. "I believe you have my trunk."

He motioned for her to take a seat. "Miss. Abercorn," he said, "I believe they've extended curfew for celebrations which gives us time to talk. You won't condemn me if I leave my door open, I hope."

"Of course not," Hermione replied. "I took a ring of Voldemort's body. I left it in my robes, but when I put them on next, it wasn't in my pocket. I'm worried one of my roommates might have taken it and passed it along to someone."

"So you're worried it's a horcrux," Severus replied. "Have you asked Professor Slughorn if he talked to Tom about them? That might give us a good impression of where we stand with this ring."

Hermione hesitated. She already knew it was a horcrux. She has nightmares the night she possesses the ring, and then nothing after she has it. "I think we already know it's a horcrux-"

"Ask him to confirm," Snape said. "It could just be your mind wandering. I've felt like I've had a pair of eyes on me, even when I'm sitting in this office, but I highly doubt it's a remnant of Tom's soul following me around."

"The Bloody Baron asked me if I could feel something different," Hermione said. "Something is wrong."

"I reviewed your memories last night," Severus said, changing the topic.

Snape was tense. His amber eyes sat deeper into his face, surrounded by purple bags. Hermione wondered if Snape was hearing whispers too, like the ones she heard before she fell asleep.

"Do you sleep?" Hermione asked.

"Rarely," Snape replied with a thin smile. "I hadn't thought of a charmed pillow."

"I'll tell you the charm," Hermione replied.

"I've figured it out now," Snape said. "But your memories, how are you functioning without them?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's to help me get through my days, and I was worried I was going to forget. Plus, it let Allie-"

"Albus."

"It let her review my memories too. It just seemed like the best thing to do at the time," Hermione said.

Snape snapped, "You've simply distanced yourself from what you are, Hermione."

"Well Dumbledore has been doing it for years," Hermione said, "In this timeline and in our timeline. It can't be dangerous."

"I think you should put some of them back," Severus replied.

Hermione scoffed. "What ones?" she asked. "The ones where I watch my friends get torn apart? Or the ones where I wander around on the countryside with no hope and my best friend losing his mind?"

"The ones with me," Severus replied, defeated. "The ones with me."

Hermione watched his amber eyes droop to the floor. She felt a pang of guilt. She had taken the memories out with Snape because she didn't like that her only comfort came from someone who wasn't Ron. "I thought perhaps Allie-"

"Albus."

"No," Hermione said. "I am not a child for you to correct. The Dumbledore that I know and have grown close to is named Allie. I didn't know Dumbledore like Harry did in my timeline. I didn't grow close to him until now. And the person I grew close to was Allie."

Severus folded his arms across his chest, but said nothing more.

"I'll put them back," Hermione replied. "Give me the jars and I'll put the memories back. There's no one left to review them anyway."

And Severus unlocked her trunk in front of her, and he took out the bottles with him as the subject. He lined them up on his desk for her to see.

Hermione said, "I guess I shouldn't ask how you found out how to unlock the trunk."

Snape's lips thinned again into a smile. "You didn't create a lock thinking anyone who knew of your past would try to unlock it," he replied. "So you were sloppy."

"Of course," Hermione replied.

She put the memories back in one by one. She felt uncomfortable with his eyes on her, as if he was watching her get dressed for a ball. She could feel perspire dripping down her neck. Maybe it was the memories that were making her feel nauseous too. But there they were. Back again. Those memories that revealed that someone in her life wanted just as much stability as she did.

"Do you see now?" Severus asked.

"I see you," Hermione said, exhaling.

"No," Snape said. "Do you see how you condemn me for treating you like the child I used to know, while you treat me like some jealous greasy git of a professor you grew up with? I've been tormented with memories of you for thirty years and do you know what you did? You just took them out. Merlin, you should have just obliviated yourself completely, but then maybe you would have been on Riddle's side."

"That's not fair," Hermione said. "Allie wanted me to befriend him, and I couldn't do it with the memory of what he had done, of what he had done to all of us, not just to me. Your life would have been completely different without him."

"Could have been," Severus replied. "And will be. Ms. Granger, it's not about what was. It's about what will be. You can't linger and wallow on what you were or what you could have been. Focus. You are changing things for your future. You can't stay in the past."

"That's why I have them bottled up," Hermione said.

"No," Severus said. "What are you if you take away your memories? You're a blank slate."

Hermione chuckled. "Allie and I theorized that Tom Riddle was a blank slate," she said.

"You're tired," Severus said. "We can continue this discussion later."

"No," Hermione said. "I understand. It's about balance. I have to keep the past with me, but it's so hard to move forward with those things there. You have to understand why I can't have them there."

"How do you think I moved forward knowing that I killed the woman who cared about me? The only woman I truly loved?" Severus asked.

"I'm not you, Severus," Hermione replied. "You could have chosen to relive that life. Why are you here now with me?"

"I saw pictures of Longbottom and Lovegood. I watched them try to rebuild our wizarding society from the scraps that Voldemort left. They looked so different from those useless youths that followed you three around at Hogwarts," Snape explained. "And I thought of Frank and Alice, and of Xenophilius, and I thought Luna and Neville deserved to have their parents there to see how much they've grown."

Hermione started, "But if things are different, Luna and Neville might not-"

Snape interrupted, "They still would have become these people. They didn't know Harry had died, and still they fought for him. People who turn out like that, they're destined to become them anyway."

"What would you have been without Lily?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not like the rest of you," Snape replied. "Voldemort wasn't a mistake. I didn't join him in an act of rebellion. He's what I believed in. It was a mistake, but if she hadn't of been there I would have fought beside him to the death. I wasn't meant to bring about greatness, I know that."

"You won't let me disagree with you, will you?" Hermione said.

Severus shrugged in reply. "You have only known me for a fraction of my life, the fraction where I tried to be a good person for selfish reasons."

"Coming back wasn't selfish," Hermione replied.

"Of course it was," Snape replied. "I didn't want to die. I didn't want things to end."

"But you came back here instead of repossessing your own body and making things right with Lily," Hermione replied. "There were other things you could have done."

"What did you want from your trunk?" Severus asked. "Curfew will hit soon and I'd rather not be seen escorting you to your room again. Dumbledore's scheduled to be back tomorrow, and I'd prefer that he keeps his nose out of our business."

"Tom's notebook," Hermione said, "And I would prefer to keep it in the Room of Requirement. I don't want to have to seek you out every time I need to look at something for reference."

"Voldemort had found the trunk," Severus said. "What makes you think the person who he possesses won't go back there to get it? It's safer with me."

"He couldn't open it before," Hermione reasoned.

"If Voldemort does have a horcrux, time is on his side," Snape said. "He could figure it out, especially if he's been learning legilimens. He could just peer into one of your little friend's minds and get the information that he needs."

"Fine," Hermione replied. "I'll be back to look through that book tomorrow."

"You should go see Slughorn while he has some firewhisky in him," Snape said.

"Fine," Hermione replied.

"Always a pleasure, Miss Abercorn," Snape responded.

Hermione quickened her pace to find Professor Slughorn. He was in his office looking through tomorrow's lecture notes. The cloudy way his eyes drifted over the page told Hermione that he had, in fact, had a bit to drink. She knocked on the door before entering.

"Miss. Abercorn!" Professor Slughorn said, standing up from his chair. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I wanted to speak to you about Tom, Professor," Hermione replied.

"Have a seat," Professor Slughorn said, and sat himself back down with some effort. "Do you know where the boy's gone?"

Hermione took a seat across from the Professor. "I have my suspicions," Hermione replied, "But I thought that perhaps you could help me fill in a few blanks."

"Of course, my dear!" he replied. "Elaborate away!"

"Before Herr Schreber found us, Tom took me away from my prefect duties. He said he needed to tell me something, and he didn't want anyone overhearing. I wanted to know the whole story, but he didn't want to tell me everything, he just told me that he needed to disappear for a little while, but he would be back. He told me he was doing what he needed to do to achieve his goal."

"His goal, Miss. Abercorn?" Professor Slughorn said. "What would be his goal?"

"A few years ago, Tom had asked me if I ever read anything about horcruxes," Hermione said. "I hadn't read anything then, and I'll admit that I read much more about them after he asked me."

"That's restricted material, Miss. Abercorn," Slughorn replied, slightly stern.

"Well, I am a Slytherin, Professor Slughorn. I have my ways," Hermione replied. "I didn't have any information then, so I assume he went elsewhere for the information he wanted. Did he approach you on the topic?"

Professor Slughorn hesitated. "I don't think the boy-"

"Professor," Hermione said. "I need to know. Did he ask you about Horcruxes?"

"Well, yes, but he approached me from an academic perspective. He didn't insinuate that he was using it practically. It was the theory behind it that he was interested in," Professor Slughorn said. "I do not think that boy is capable of killing for it."

Hermione shrugged. "Thank you sir," she replied, standing up. "That's all I needed to know."

Professor Slughorn stood up with her, slamming his hands on his desk. "Miss. Abercorn, if you think Mr. Riddle is capable of killing someone, let me know this instant," he said.

Hermione stared at the Professor, trying to decide what to respond. She didn't know what consequences would arise from her telling him what she believed. Would they search for him harder if they suspected he was a killer? Would they suspect her of acting first?

"Merlin," Professor Slughorn said, staring into Hermione's green eyes. "I have made a terrible mistake."


	19. A Human Being's made of more than Air

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

Chapter Nineteen: A Human Being's made of more than Air

Her dreams were empty, but falling asleep was increasingly difficult. She felt the eyes on her. She heard the whispers, more of them, more clearly, but she still couldn't hear what they were saying. Hermione wondered if Snape was right, maybe these voices were in her head. Maybe they were a subconscious manifestation of her guilt and concerns. She found herself lingering on thoughts of Snape as well. With the memories back she found herself allowing herself to be absorbed in the warmth of his black robes, breathing in the thick apothecary smells lingering on him. She thought the whispers were mocking her, reminding her of what she was thinking. The only person she loved she lost. She shouldn't find comfort in Professor Snape, and she certainly shouldn't be using memories of him to help her sleep. She put the charmed pillow over her head to drown out the whispers.

Hermione was asked into Dumbledore's office the following morning. She regretted saying anything to Slughorn. After Hermione said her suspicions, Slughorn had shooed Hermione out of his office and searched out Dumbledore immediately. She wasn't surprised to be in Dumbledore's office.

Professor Dumbledore was back with only minor injuries. Hermione was quite certain the exhausted look on his face suggested more internal, psychological injuries. Professor Narayan, true to form, stood behind Dumbledore, looking at the portraits.

"Miss. Abercorn, you remember our discussion about Mr. Riddle," Dumbledore began.

"Of course, sir," Hermione replied.

"So I am correct in believing that you have nothing to do with the disappearance of Mr. Riddle?" he asked, not bothering to hide the doubt from his voice.

"You are," Hermione replied.

"Professor Slughorn admitted to me that he had told Mr. Riddle about horcruxes," Professor Dumbledore said.

Hermione assumed that Professor Slughorn had hid the memory originally from Dumbledore because Voldemort had already committed his crimes, but now that Professor Slughorn had the opportunity to redeem himself before any crimes had been committed, he had nothing to hide.

"I told him my suspicions," Hermione replied. "I believe that he's out trying to form one."

"Why would he do this while he's still in school?" Dumbledore asked.

"Perhaps because he realized that there was still a possibility of death at school," Hermione said. "The basilisk certainly proved that."

"Perhaps he was trying to protect himself from you, Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore replied.

Hermione shrugged, but smiled. "Both prove my point, sir," she said.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Let's leave this conversation for a moment," he replied. "I wanted to talk to you about the memory you showed me before I left the school. Where did you get it?"

There it was. Hermione couldn't think of any lie that would be reasonable. She would have to tell the truth. "Allison," Hermione replied. "She kept an archive of her memories, and she sent a memory to me telling me which one to give to you."

Albus and Saqi looked at one another briefly. "But how would Allie have a false memory of Albus'?" Professor Narayan asked.

"And I'm not even entirely sure it's fake," Dumbledore replied. "I couldn't see any seams insinuating that it was constructed."

"Allie was Professor Dumbledore in a previous life," Hermione explained, "An alternate life of your own. She wanted to keep Professor Narayan safe, and when she wasn't sure she could do that anymore, she didn't want you to make the same mistake she did."

Again, Saqi and Albus exchanged looks.

"I can get more memories of hers," Hermione said. "I can get the one explaining how she got here."

"Let's say I believe this story," Saqi said. "Why would she share this information with you instead of with Albus himself?"

"Well, Allie knew herself," Hermione said. "She knew she wouldn't believe herself and that he would possibly condemn her for trying to change time. It was a risk she couldn't take."

Saqi looked at Hermione suspiciously. Albus looked more thoughtful. Dumbledore said, "I want to see the memory."

"I'll just have to step out and get it," Hermione said.

"Of course."

Hermione ran down the hallway to reach Severus' office. Severus was already in there, reviewing notes or possibly even early papers. She went into and opened the trunk. "No hello then," Severus said, keeping his eyes on the papers in front of him.

"I have to show Dumbledore his own death," Hermione said.

This caused Snape to look up from the papers. "You are not considering telling Dumbledore the truth," he said.

Hermione picked up her notebook and tried to find the memory. "I'm telling him the truth about Allie," she explained.

"Why on earth are you doing that?" he asked.

"Severus, please," Hermione said, exasperated. "I don't really know what I'm doing. At this point I'm just addressing issues as they come up. If you hadn't of killed Tom Riddle right away, I wouldn't be looking for his horcrux and I probably would have figured – Oh! I found it!" She held the memory of Dumbledore's death in her hand.

"Ms. Granger I do not think-"

"I'll be back later," Hermione said, cutting him off.

She ran back down the hallway to Dumbledore's office. He already had his pensieve out and ready for viewing. Hermione handed him the memory. She decided not to brace him for what he was about to see. Dumbledore put the memory and then dived right in.

Hermione thought Dumbledore was witnessing Draco threatening Dumbledore. While Draco was listening to Dumbledore trying to relax him, Fenrir Greyback disarmed Dumbledore. Fenrir taunted Draco to kill Dumbledore, while Dumbledore tried to reason with him. The Dumbledore witnessing the situation would have seen the runes scattered around his office without really knowing what they are.

Then, before Draco could kill him, Snape stepped in. Dumbledore then starting murmuring incantations to activate the runes, and Snape used the killing curse to displace Dumbledore's soul. What Dumbledore didn't see was his soul drifting out of his body and being slammed through time. Years later, Voldemort killed Fenrir for possession of the Elder Wand, and Hermione had given up deciphering the Deathly Hallows after Ron passed away.

Dumbledore came out of the memory, more confused than when he came in. Of course, he didn't know any of the people he saw in the memory. "You will have to explain this to me, Miss. Abercorn," he said.

"The Professor who killed you in the memory, he is the one who sent you through times. You should have seen yourself murmuring to activate the runes. You had been cursed and were willing to be destroyed to assist in the war," Hermione explained. "By killing you, your soul was able to move through the barrier and get sent back here. Of course, the soul needs a body to possess, and that was the body that was chosen."

"Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore said, "I didn't see anything at all."

"You weren't in the Astronomy Tower?" Hermione asked.

"No," Dumbledore said. "But it did feel more like a faded memory instead of nothing at all. Perhaps-"

"It should have been-" Hermione stopped. "Let me get the other memories. Perhaps they were mixed up. I can show you them all."

Before either Professor could stop her, she rushed out into Severus' office. He was still reviewing the papers on his desk. Keeping his eyes there, he asked, "And how did it go, Miss. Abercorn?"

"It's entirely possible that I've gone completely mad," Hermione replied. "Something's wrong."

"You're getting sloppy, Ms. Granger," Snape said.

"I have to show them the rest of Allie's memories," Hermione said. "I might as well give them all of mine too. Severus, I am falling apart at the seams. I can't think on my feet anymore."

"I suppose you're going to blame me," he said.

"Well you did ruin all of my plans," Hermione replied. "And I haven't had time to make new ones. Ron was tactics. He was the one who could make the next correct move, and make it quickly. I'm just going to take the whole trunk."

That's when Professor Narayan and Professor Dumbledore stepped into Severus' office. "Ah, Herr Schreber," Albus said. "We wondered where Miss. Abercorn was storing these memories."

Severus stood up, a little stunned. "Yes," he replied. "Wait, what?"

"I have a theory," Albus said, "About why the memory has changed. And it's good you're here as well Herr Schreber."

Snape just nodded in response. Hermione stood up, away from the trunk.

Dumbledore began, "If Allie has, in fact, travelled in time, her soul took her previous memories with her. But now that she has passed away, the memories have faded with her even though they are outside of the body because these memories were connected with the soul rather than the body and, arguably, already used to being separated from the physical form. What I saw was the uncertainty of the future."

"We looked at the original memory again," Saqi said, "And it's completely faded as well."

"But what about my memories?" Hermione asked. "They're still vivid and true."

She didn't even realize that this was a slip of the tongue. She just unintentionally admitted that she was a traveller like Allie as well. Saqi's eyes locked onto her.

"You are still alive, Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore replied. "You are still holding tightly onto those thoughts and, perhaps, you haven't accepted that the future will be different like Allie did, presumably, on her death bed."

"So you're from the same era as she is," Saqi said. "That's why you have so much excess energy."

Hermione opened her mouth to deny it, but it was too late. Dumbledore offered a smile and turned to Herr Schreber. "Saqi mentioned that you had mistaken Miss. Abercorn for a Miss. Granger," Albus said.

Severus shook his head. "I would have mistaken her for anyone to get him away from me," he replied. "He was insinuating that I was-"

Hermione cut him off to speak with Professor Dumbledore, "If you don't mind, sir, I really need to find a ring," Hermione admitted, "And then I need to destroy it. You can review my memories to find out why, but we really don't have much time to spare."

"All right Miss. Abercorn," Professor Dumbledore said, "But before we search for this ring, I must know one thing."

"Of course, Professor," Hermione replied.

"Did you kill Tom Riddle?" he asked. "If what you are looking for is what I suspect it is, it will only be that much more dangerous if he is dead."

"Yes," Hermione replied. "I killed Tom Riddle, but I can explain-"

She could feel Snape's eyes boring into her, but she knew better than to make eye contact. She could take the blame for this one. It was her cross to bear.

Dumbledore cut Hermione off, with a signature sparkle in his eyes, "Where should we begin looking?"

"The Slytherins, sir," Hermione said. "I suspect it's one of my roommates, we can start with them."

"What does it look like?" Dumbledore asked.

Severus sighed and took out his invisibility cloak. "Here, she can hide behind this and let you know which one it is. I'd hate for you to come back with a bunch of rings, or worse, no rings."

Saqi took the cloak and tossed it over Hermione, and the three of them were off. Severus stayed behind to ignore what was going on. Dumbledore didn't bother to let Slughorn know what was going on, but they knocked on the door to Hermione's room nonetheless. Most of the students hadn't left to the Great Hall for breakfast, and Audley, Abbot, and Yaxley were still in the room.

They seemed surprised that it was Dumbledore they were letting in. Yaxley exchanged a glance with Abbot when it was Professor Saqi who followed behind him. "We're looking for a ring that once belonged to Miss. Abercorn," Dumbledore explained. "It has gone missing, and it has a bit of a nasty curse on it that we would like to take out of student circulation. We've decided to start the search here, have any of you seen it?"

"No," Yaxley replied, "No, sir."

Abbot shook her head, and Audley followed suit. "Do you mind if we do a quick check of your suitcases?" Saqi asked. "It's really important that we find this ring."

Hermione heard it again, the whisper. She didn't know what it was saying. It sounded calm.

"Why isn't Hermione asking us herself?" Audley asked, her tone defensive. "She hasn't asked us about this ring before."

"When Hermione told us about the ring we thought it was better that she no longer have physical contact with it," Dumbledore replied.

Audley sighed and reluctantly pulled the ring out from under her pillow. "If it's really that dangerous," she said. "I didn't think it was."

Hermione's skin began to crawl, as if someone was breathing on the back of her neck.

Audley hesitated, and then dropped the ring in Dumbledore's outstretched hand. Dumbledore examined it. Saqi asked, "Why did you hold onto it?"

Audley shot a threatening look at Yaxley and Abbot before explaining, so that they'd know better than to spread what she was about to say around. "It was showing me my mother in my dreams. Memories from when I was a child, before I even knew what I had, came back to life. They interacted with me. I only took it to keep Hermione away from Tom, but I held onto it because of the dreams that kept coming to me," Audley explained. "Tell her I'm sorry. I'll apologize again when she gets back here."

Hermione decided that the ring must not have taken Tom Riddle's form. It must have taken an affectionate memory to distract Audley while it rifled through her memories with Hermione and weakened her spirit. Hermione knew that if Audley had seen Tom, she wouldn't have needed basilisk venom to destroy the ring.

"Of course," Dumbledore said, closing his hand with the ring.

As soon as they were out of the Slytherin common room, Saqi pulled the invisibility cloak off of Hermione. The whispers followed her all the way into the hallway. He asked her, "Why on earth couldn't you have done that yourself?"

Dumbledore replied, "Be fair now. Miss. Abercorn couldn't have known how whoever had the ring would react. They could have gotten violent to defend their property. Mr. Riddle could have already possessed the person."

"So you do believe it is a horcrux?" Hermione asked.

"Of course," Dumbledore replied. "As soon as you mentioned you needed the ring, I knew what you thought it was, and now that I have it in my hand, I see what has to be done. We'll go to Armando's office and get the sword of Gryffindor to destroy it."

At the last words, destroy it, the whispers picked up, repeating "destroy it" over and over in panicked tones, but Hermione felt too frozen to say anything, as if whatever it was had grasped onto her lungs to keep her from breathing another word again.

"Saqi, get Herr Schreber and meet us there," Dumbledore said. "I am going to want to speak with him."

Hermione followed Dumbledore to Dippet's office. Dippet was drinking tea and reading the Daily Prophet. "Good morning Armando," Dumbledore said. "I need to borrow the Sword of Godric Gryffindor for a moment."

"Of course Albus," Dippet replied. "It's not locked."

Albus tossed the ring on the floor. The sound it made when it fell created a shockwave for Hermione. She could feel it all the way through her body. "Professor," Hermione gasped. "H-He's here."

Hermione felt like something had grasped her heart and was clenching it. She fell to her knees in pain and let out a scream. She could hear it, the whispers, saying her name over and over again. The essence of Voldemort's soul had grasped her.

Dumbledore opened the case and took out the sword. "My word!" Dippet said. "What's going on here? What's wrong with-"

"It was cursed!" Herr Schreber said, running into the room with Professor Saqi close at his heels. "It was cursed originally." He dropped to the floor stopping Dumbledore from slamming the sword down on the ring. "Let me make sure the curse isn't there."

Hermione let out another scream, writhing on the floor. She could feel the weight on her chest. Like something was trying to enter her. She clawed at her chest, trying to get it off of her. Had she welcomed it? Could he enter without her permission?

"Severus, I do not think-" Dumbledore started, but Snape was already over the ring, murmuring something, testing the ring.

Hermione felt as if the bones in her fingers were trying to be forced out through the tips. She could feel fingers working holes into her lungs. Her lips moistened as blood dripped out of her nose. She had no voice left to scream, and only gasps came out of her mouth.

"Merlin, can't someone do something-?" Armando asked.

"The ring is fine," Snape said and he moved to Hermione. "Remember you occlumency Ms. Granger. Don't let him in."

Hermione watched as the sword dived onto the ring. Severus' cold bony fingers enveloped her hands. It felt like hours before the sword hit the ring, the screams pressing against her ears and behind her eyes. She told him to get out, grasping onto Snape's hands she told Tom Riddle to get out of life.

And then, just like that, it was over.

All the screams and the pain and the whispers and the pressure, it was all gone. Hermione lay on the floor, breathing heavily. It was as if she had been drowning and she finally got a breath of air. She stared at the smashed ring on the floor. She didn't notice that Snape had released her hands. She didn't see Dumbledore take the potion that Herr Schreber forced on him. She didn't see Armando Dippet drop his teacup on the floor with his mouth agape.

Professor Narayan leaned over her. "Are you all right, Miss. Abercorn?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione replied with a smile, wiping the blood off her nose. "I'm fine now."

Professor Narayan offered a hand for Hermione to get up. Headmaster Dippet summoned a chair for Hermione to sit on. She sat down again, her legs relieved to be more relaxed. Snape put a hand on her chin to check her eyes, and opened her mouth to make sure she hadn't bitten off her tongue.

"Why did he go after Hermione?" Professor Saqi asked. "Why didn't he go after you, Albus? You were the one who had the sword."

"I think I should know what is going on," Dippet said, pouring another glass of tea and handing it to Hermione. "What just happened?"

"Tom only had that connection with Hermione," Dumbledore said. "She was the only one he could attack and produce effective results. I think if she had the ring for as long as Miss. Audley had, she would have been in worse shape."

Hermione could barely hold her tea, her hands were shaking so fiercely. Severus, still kneeling in front of her, held her free hand loosely, trying to relax her. "He's gone," Severus said, his lips thinning into a smile. "He's finally gone."


	20. So Tell me when you’re Gonna let me In

Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters or universe. No offense is meant by the situations portrayed in this or any other fanworks.

A/N: And there you have it, the end!  
I played around with writing an epilogue, but I wasn't completely satisfied with it. If enough people want it, I'll rewrite the epilogue and post one, but if not, here's the end!  
I will eventually be working on other works aside from the Hattie Potter series, so if there is something specific you liked in this piece that you'd want to see in another, let me know and I'll try to please!  
Thanks to everyone for sticking with me through it, even if you were just watching, I really do appreciate it! I hope you liked it!

Chapter Twenty: So Tell me when you're Gonna let me In

The rest of the day was spent with discussions, filling in all the blanks that had occurred. Saqi noticed that both Allie and Severus had mistaken her for a Granger. So, of course, he and Dumbledore figured out that Herr Schreber was from Hermione's era. Dumbledore also noted too, that when he noticed Hermione's eyes lingered on Phineas Nigellus Black's portrait, he knew something was up.

The Professors raided Hermione's memories and Snape offered up some of his once he had been discovered. They saw the monster that Tom Riddle would become. Armando Dippet found it hard to believe that the boy was capable of such a transformation, but he recognized some fragment of the boy in one of Severus' memories where he kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes. None of them asked for the memory where Hermione killed Tom Riddle. They decided to let his missing person report continue to be lost amongst all the casualties of Grindelwald's war. It would be a while before any member in the ministry even touched his file, and if anyone starting doing a more thorough search, Dumbledore assured them that he would handle it.

Despite all their questions and reviews, both Dippet and Dumbledore agreed that they couldn't stay at the school. There would be too many issues when their former selves came to school, not to mention other biases they would have with students and staff. So they suggested Hermione fast tracked her way through school, so she had to take her N.E.W.T.s with Minerva and Poppy. They let Severus finish his year, but as a librarian and he had to move on afterwards. Madam James was relieved to finally retire, but it was up in the air as to who would replace Snape after he left.

They were also not allowed to speak to any of the students about what had happened. Lucy Audley apologized profusely for taking the ring. She said that she had taken the ring to keep Hermione away from Tom. She was planning to confront Hermione with the ring to demand she stayed away from him, but she found she couldn't bear to part with it. Hermione claimed the ring took the form of what the person desired most and slowly drained their energy and Audley believed it. Hermione noticed the girl lost a bit of her glow, and she looked much more tired than she had before. She wondered if Lucy's connection with the ring took a toll on her, specifically when it was destroyed.

Both Lucy Audley and her father were furious that Hermione was leaving before Lucy. But nothing they offered or threatened made Dippet budge on his decision to keep her out of the school. Hermione told both of them that Lucy would be fine, that the major threat was gone. She even forged a two-way mirror so Lucy would be able to contact her if she was every in danger (or, Lucy noted, needed help with upcoming assignments.)

Of course, Hermione had to tell Hagrid, Minerva, and Poppy the whole story, but she kept Dumbledore out of the loop that they knew. She didn't want to ruin their futures as well. They had little to contribute aside from the fact that they were all disappointed they couldn't have helped in that final battle. Hermione assured them that they did enough fighting her original timeline to make up for it. Hermione also confided in them that Herr Severus Schreber was from her timeline too and had come back to make sure everything had been completed.

"See, she knew him before!" Poppy said, nudging Minerva. "And here you were worried she was going to sneak around with some authority figure."

"I'm sorry Hermione," Minerva said, chuckling. "It looks like I've misjudged your character again."

Hermione laughed along with them, and she didn't tell them how her relationship with Herr Schreber was originally teacher and student. She knew Minerva would go back to being suspicious of her. But Minerva and Poppy were happy to have another study partner for their N.E.W.T.s. and they even discussed applying for some jobs where they could work together. Hagrid, however, was anxious that everyone was leaving, but they assured him that he would be fine by himself.

"I can't believe you spent six years reading Muggle fiction," Severus replied.

"I needed to keep my mind busy somehow," Hermione replied.

Hermione was studying in the library, but she sat at Severus' desk. He found the librarian job quite boring. Hermione had begun hiding restricted books in with the normal books so they could watch the younger students open them and get startled by the screams that came from inside the books.

"How frivolous," Severus said.

"It teaches you about life," Hermione said. "Philosophy and psychology, all those things."

Snape sniffed. He responded, "I have lived long enough to know better than to waste my time reading about fictional lives for life experience."

"Because you have experienced everything," Hermione replied.

"I have experienced enough," Severus said. "But I would have willingly experienced Azkaban too, if they blamed you for Tom's murder. I don't know what you were thinking, taking the blame for me."

"I thought you deserved a chance to finally live without anyone expecting anything from you," Hermione replied. "I had nothing to lose."

"I will not get into an argument with you over who has lost more in this damned war," Snape said.

They both grew silent and focussed on reading their books, until Hermione said, "I was wondering, why didn't you change physically when you released so much energy? Both Allie and myself had physical changes after we released a heap of energy."

Snape shrugged. "What changed for you?" he asked.

Hermione smiled, twisting a stray strand of her hair with her finger. "My hair," she replied. "I missed it."

"That's the difference then," Snape said. "I didn't miss anything about my former self."

Hermione thought for a moment. "You know what," Hermione said. "After I killed the basilisk, nothing changed. Tom always said my eyes turned brown when I was releasing energy, but they never stayed that colour. I like my green eyes because it feels like Harry is staring out of my eyes."

"How macabre," Snape replied, indifferently.

"Do your eyes change colour?" Hermione asked.

"Miss. Abercorn, I do not stare at myself in a mirror when I am releasing energy, nor do I have any young boys ogling me while I try to kill them," he replied.

Hermione smiled.

"What?" Snape asked.

"You called me Abercorn," Hermione said. "I like that."

Severus' ears turned red as he began concentrating on his book again. It made Hermione think of Ron when he was embarrassed. It had been a while since she had been around redheads. She lingered for a moment on thoughts of the Weasleys and the family she could have had with them.

"I've been meaning to ask you," Hermione replied, "Why did you pick that body?"

"Well it was before I remembered what an insufferable know-it-all you were," Snape said.

"That explains even less," Hermione replied, furrowing her brow.

Snape exhaled and slammed his book shut. Several of the students loitering in the library looked up to see him, but then went back to their work. Most of the students preferred Madam James to Herr Schreber for obvious reasons.

"If you must know," Severus said, "I was a bit delusional in my later years and you became... a Lily to me, another dead muggle born to fight for. I treasured those few memories I had of you. It was a comfort, comforting you in your time of need. Most of the time I felt used, but to feel needed, like I actually had a true place in all this, not just playing the role of the double agent, but having some sort of meaning. It meant a lot to me and... you meant a lot to me.

"When I knew I was going to find you again, I wanted to find a body that you would like," he continued, "While still having my 'ace-in-the-hole' status. Of course, now I remember what a selfish little brat-"

"So everything you said about Luna and Neville-" Hermione said.

"I wasn't lying," Snape said. "You were just a bonus, something to keep me motivated while I was growing up in this wretched past."

Hermione's heart pounded in her chest. She thought of that night when the memories of Snape came back with a vengeance. Her cheeks burned and she knew. She had a second chance at life.

Hermione took his hand in hers even though he avoided her eyes. "I felt guilty before," Hermione said, "For seeing you as a comfort. It was as if I was cheating on Ron if I had someone else to care for me, but I think I was just cheating myself. He would want me to be happy, wouldn't he?"

"Perhaps," Severus said, "But he probably doesn't care about my happiness."

"But I care about your happiness," Hermione said, giving Snape a knowing smile.

She pulled him close to embrace him, but he pulled away. "Hermione, there are students everywhere," Snape replied. "I am a professional."

"We're getting kicked out anyway," Hermione said. "What does it matter?"

"I suppose you are correct," he replied, "as usual."

Hermione felt one of his cool hands hold her chin lightly, drawing her closer to his lips. She felt her heart rise through her. It wasn't like Ron's kiss or Voldemort's. It was different. It was new. It was warm. She twisted her fingers into his curls, pulling him closer to her. As the kiss dissolved into an embrace, Hermione asked, "So where do we go now, Herr Schreber?"

Breathing in her hair, Severus replied, "Anywhere we want, Miss. Abercorn."


End file.
